Miro Heiskanen is week to week for the Dallas Stars with a knee injury and will also miss the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off.
The defenseman left a 4-3 overtime win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday at 7:56 of the third period after Vegas forward Mark Stone collided with his left leg.
“We’re terming him week to week,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “He had an MRI yesterday and then he’s seeing the specialist today who has gathered all of the information. We’ll know more after that.”
Heiskanen had been selected to play for Team Finland along with two Stars teammates, defenseman Esa Lindell and forward Roope Hintz, at the 4 Nations Face-Off, which will take place in Montreal and Boston from Feb. 12-20. His replacement for the team will be named at a later date.
Heiskanen leads Dallas defensemen in points with 25 (five goals, 20 assists) in 50 games this season and is sixth in the NHL in ice time per game (25:10). He is also second on the team with 85 blocked shots.
“With Miro, he’s not a guy that you can replace with one guy,” forward Wyatt Johnston said. “It’s a matter of everyone stepping up to fill that void, which obviously isn’t easy. We have a lot of great hockey players here. It requires everyone to step up and do what they can to help the team.”
Dallas (32-17-1) is second in the Central Division, eight points behind the Winnipeg Jets. The Stars next play against the Vancouver Canucks on Friday (8 p.m. ET; Victory+, SN).
“You lose the best defenseman in the NHL, everyone has to step up,” goalie Jake Oettinger said. “That starts with me. We’ve done that all year. We’ve lost big pieces all year and we’ve rallied around it and stepped up. I can be a huge part of that. I’m focused on playing my best hockey right now until the break and trying to step up big while Miro is out. Hopefully, I can do that.”
NHL.com independent correspondent Taylor Baird contributed to this report
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