Lundkvist took a scary skate high in the second period and was forced to leave Game 4 vs. Dallas. The 25-year-old has enjoyed an impressive playoffs so far, with two assists through four games played.
Despite having a 2.85 GAA and .889 SV% through three games, Jake Oettinger has led the Dallas Stars to an early 2-1 series lead and will yet again take the crease for Game 4 on Saturday. The 27-year-old won 35 games for a fourth straight season in 2025-26, posting a 35-12-6 record with a 2.59 GAA and .899 SV%. He heads to Minnesota to take on the Wild for Game 4, who have only scored 5 goals in their last two games after sneaking six goals by Oettinger in Game 1.
After dressing in the first two games of Colorado's first round series against the Kings, Kiviranta will take a seat on Thursday in favour of Ross Colton. Kiviranta averaged less than ten minutes of ice times in Games 1 and 2 and did not register a point.
After a dreadful Game One performance, allowing five goals on 28 shots (.821 SV%) in a blowout 6-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild, Oettinger silenced critics in Game Two, saving 28 of 30 shots (.933 SV%) in a 4-2 win to even the series at 1-1. The 27-year-old Oettinger is seemingly following his postseason script from a year ago, when he opened the playoffs by allowing four goals on 24 shots (.833 SV%) in a blowout 5-1 Game One loss to the Colorado Avalanche before rebounding with a 2.63 GAA and .920 SV% in his next six games (4-2) to ultimately win the series. The Stars enter Game Three as +112 road underdogs.
Hintz has been sidelined by a lower-body injury since March 6th and is questionable to play at all during Round 1 of the playoffs. As of Sunday, Hintz had not yet started skating on his own according to Head Coach Glen Gulutzan, indicating he is likely not that close to returning.
Coming off arguably the worst regular season of his career, posting a 2.59 GAA and an ugly .899 SV% in 54 games (35-12-6), Oettinger began his postseason with a forgetful performance, allowing five goals on 28 shots (.821 SV%) in a blowout 6-1 Game One loss to the Minnesota Wild. That said, if history is an indicator, the Stars will be hopeful that Oettinger can repeat his postseason performance from a year ago. Last year, Oettinger opened the playoff by allowing four goals on 24 shots (.833 SV%) in a blowout 5-1 Game One loss to the Colorado Avalanche, but rebounded by posting a 2.63 GAA and .920 SV% in his next four games (4-2) to ultimately win the series. The Stars enter Game Two against Minnesota as -128 home favourites.
Adam Erne will be a healthy scratch on Monday, allowing Hyry to enter the lineup and make his postseason debut. The 25-year-old Hyry had five points (3G / 2A) in 20 games with Dallas this season and impressed by winning 57.9 percent of faceoffs.
Coming off arguably the worst regular season of his career, posting a 2.59 GAA and an ugly .899 SV% in 54 games (35-12-6), Oettinger began his postseason with a forgetful performance, allowing five goals on 28 shots (.821 SV%) in a blowout 6-1 Game One loss to the Minnesota Wild. That said, if history is an indicator, the Stars will be hopeful that Oettinger can repeat his postseason performance from a year ago. Last year, Oettinger opened the playoff by allowing four goals on 24 shots (.833 SV%) in a blowout 5-1 Game One loss to the Colorado Avalanche, but rebounded by posting a 2.63 GAA and .920 SV% in his next four games (4-2) to ultimately win the series. The Stars enter Game Two against Minnesota as -128 home favourites.
Hintz has been sidelined by a lower-body injury since March 6th and is questionable to play at all during Round 1 of the playoffs. Head coach Glen Gulutzan said he might have an update on Monday, but he'll miss Game 1 on Saturday.
Heiskanen missed the final three games of the regular season with a lower-body injury, but was a full participant in Friday's practice and will play in Game 1 on Saturday. Heiskanen had another incredible season, posting nine goals and 54 assists (63 points) in 77 games.
Lundkvist is in his fourth season with the Stars and has three goals and eight assists (11 points) in 52 games this season. Lundkvist is coming off of a one-year, $1.25M deal, so he earns an extra year of security and a $500K raise per season.
Halverson started Tampa Bay's final game of the regular season, but he will head back to the AHL to assist Syracuse with their playoff run. The 30-year-old Halverson has a 2.39 GAA and .906 SV% in 42 games this season with the Syracuse Crunch (24-11-6).
With Jonas Johansson (undisclosed) out day-to-day, Halverson was recalled from Syracuse (AHL) on Wednesday and was expected to serve as Andrei Vasilevskiy's backup in Tampa Bay's final game of the season, but he will instead get the surprise start. The 30-year-old Halverson has a 2.39 GAA and .906 SV% in 42 games this season with the Syracuse Crunch (24-11-6). Halverson has just one other NHL start to his name, which came with the Lightning last season.
Hintz was expected to return from a lower-body injury before the end of the regular season, but after suffering a setback, his return to action is unclear. Stars' Head Coach Glen Gulutzan suggested that he does not expect Hintz to play in the first two games of the season. Matt Duchene has been the main beneficiary during Hintz's absence and will likely continue to see an elevated role into the playoffs.
Nils Lundkvist will re-enter the Stars' lineup on Wednesday, sending Capobianco back to the sidelines as a healthy scratch. The 28-year-old Capobianco played in the Stars' previous game, for just his second contest in the last two months.
Alex Petrovic will be a healthy scratch on Wednesday, allowing Bichsel to re-enter the lineup. The 21-year-old Bichsel is averaging 15:34 time-on-ice and has eight points (4G / 4A) in 49 games this season.
