DALLAS (AP) — Miro Heiskanen returned to the lineup for the Dallas Stars for the first time in 3 1/2 months on Tuesday night, when the defenseman who had been out with a knee injury was active for Game 4 of their second-round Western Conference playoff series against the Winnipeg Jets.
Heiskanen was activated from long-term injured reserve earlier Tuesday and went through an optional morning skate. He was one of the first players on the ice for pregame warmups, drawing cheers from Stars fans, and was in the starting lineup.
Stars coach Pete DeBoer had said earlier in the day that he anticipated Heiskanen would play if all went well coming out of that morning skate.
Heiskanen missed the last 32 regular-season games and the first 10 playoff games. He injured his left knee against Vegas on Jan. 28, when he took a big hit from Golden Knights captain Mark Stone, and had surgery in February.
With Heiskanen back and the Stars up 2-1 in the series, they went with seven defensemen and 11 forwards for the first time this postseason.
“Those decisions are always difficult because you’re taking out players that have not only helped us all season but have made some big contributions so far in the playoffs,” DeBoer said earlier Tuesday.
“The 11-7 thing’s no big deal,” he said. “It gives Mikko Rantanen some more ice time, so that’s an easy one.”
Rantanen went into the game with an NHL-high 18 points (nine goals, nine assists) this postseason. He had a goal and two assists in the Stars' 5-2 win on Sunday, his fifth time in six games with at least three points.
Before getting hurt this season, the 25-year-old Heiskanen had 25 points (five goals, 20 assists) in his 50 games.
Now in his seventh NHL season, all with the Stars, he had 61 points (16 goals) in 85 playoff games before Tuesday night.
Heiskanen was the third overall pick in the 2017 NHL draft. The native of Finland is in the fourth season of the $67.6 million, eight-year contract he signed four summers ago.
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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Stephen Hawkins, The Associated Press
