The Dallas Stars and their captain Jamie Benn are set to return to action for the first time in 17 days after an absence due to COVID-19.
That’s a total of six games that have been postponed for the Stars.
The Texas club have been put on hiatus after Benn and 10 of his teammates were placed on the list of players on the sidelines in connection with COVID-19 protocol, following their game on December 20.
All of the cripples are recovering from injuries and will be in post Thursday against the Florida Panthers.
The Stars have two games on the calendar in less than 48 hours: they will cross swords with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday afternoon in Dallas.
The Stars and Avalanche have played the fewest games among Western clubs, 29. By comparison, Vegas and Anaheim have played 36 games.
“We have big pitfalls ahead of us, that’s obvious,” said Stars head coach Rick Bowness on Wednesday. It’s unreal, but that’s what happens when you miss 17 days of activities.
“It’s nice to see the number of games in hand, but we have to win them just to join the field. ”
The Stars won their two games leading up to the holiday break.
Before that they had lost five times in a row and before that they had won seven times in a row.
Even though the Stars’ players trained on leave, they did not have full training with all staff before Tuesday’s intra-squad game. The team trained on Wednesday as well.
“Details will be very important for this long break outing,” said Stars forward Jason Robertson. Teams that do well keep the game simple. They work hard, but smart. After that your legs come back and you feel more confident with the puck, the game opens. ”