Stars captain Jamie Benn missed practice Saturday afternoon, a day after exiting the season opener against Nashville during the second period with a lower-body injury.
That’s about all that is certain — publicly, at least — about Benn’s absence and how long it could impact a Stars team already without its top center (Tyler Seguin) and No. 1 goaltender (Ben Bishop).
Is there any more clarity on Benn, short-term or long-term? Is he getting more testing done today?
“Jamie’s lower-body, day to day,” Stars coach Rick Bowness replied during Saturday’s Zoom call with reporters.
Is there concern still that it is longer-term or are you guys pretty sure that he’ll be back soon? Will he be back on the home stand at all?
“Good try,” Bowness said. “Lower-body, day to day. Good try.”
Benn suffered the injury about six minutes into the second period Friday, when Predators forward Viktor Arvidsson fell on his right knee. Benn was helped by two Stars staff members down the tunnel to the dressing room but returned for four shifts in the second period.
Benn left the bench again towards the end of the period, when Alexander Radulov took his spot on the top power-play unit. During the second intermission, the Stars announced that Benn would not return to the game, and Bowness did not provide an update after the game.
Bowness did not rule out Benn returning during the Stars’ home stand — which opened Friday night with a 7-0 win over Nashville — which would provide a boost to a suddenly bruised squad.
Forward Joel Kiviranta exited Saturday’s practice with a lower-body injury that Bowness also classified as day to day. Forward Blake Comeau is unavailable because of the NHL’s COVID-19 protocols and hasn’t practiced with the team since Jan. 16.
It’s premature to assume that Benn will miss significant time, but he is a player the Stars can ill afford to lose, especially with Seguin out until early April following offseason hip surgery. Benn played Friday night on the top line with Roope Hintz and Denis Gurianov, a combination that Bowness raved about during training camp.
The line was filled with the team’s three leading goal-scorers from last season and formed a potentially potent top six with Joe Pavelski, Alexander Radulov and Kiviranta on the line below. With Benn out, Jason Dickinson skated with Hintz and Gurianov on Saturday.
“He can skate with them for starters,” Bowness said. “If you want to play with those two, you better be able to skate. He can fly with them, so he can keep up.”
Dickinson added: “I think it’s pretty simple with them. Give them the puck and let them skate. You give them the puck in the right space, the right areas, they’re going to be able to beat guys 1 on 1. I’ve got to play off of that and let them play their game. I’ll play my game of coming in later and being the, not more responsible, but being the more defensive-minded aspect of that line.”
Dickinson has been the most versatile forward on the Stars roster in the last three seasons, owning the ability to center a checking line or play wing on a scoring trio. During the 2019 playoffs, he ascended to the top six to play with Seguin and Mats Zuccarello. During last season’s playoff run, he filled in on the shutdown line when Radek Faksa got hurt.
Dickinson is a natural center who prefers to play there, but he has gotten used to playing wing.
“I think it’s been a process over the years of just keeping myself ready for anything,” Dickinson said. “I pride myself on being able to play anywhere at any time in any situation. My game doesn’t need to change a whole lot.”
If Benn is out, it would be the third player in the Stars leadership group to miss a game in the young season. Comeau (who wears an “A” on the road) and Seguin (who does so at home) missed the opener against Nashville.
“He is the guy,” Dickinson said of Benn. “Everybody leans on him. He takes a lot of that pressure and a lot of the heat, but we’re fortunate that we have veteran guys that have been in that situation before.”
Briefly: During practice Saturday, the Stars broke in the helmets, gloves and pants used in their Blackout third jerseys. The differences are slight, with neon green outlines replacing the normal white lettering. Dallas will wear the jerseys 15 times this season, first on Thursday against Detroit.
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January 24, 2021 at 06:09AM
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Jamie Benn (lower body) misses Saturday’s practice, listed day-to-day as Stars keep quiet on further details - The Dallas Morning News
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