NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Tyler Seguin and the Dallas Stars found out Wednesday that one of their longest-tenured players has a torn ACL and could miss the rest of the NHL season.
It’s another major blow to a team already ravaged with injuries. Coach Glen Gulutzan said Seguin would miss a significant amount of time after the 33-year-old forward got hurt Tuesday night at the New York Rangers.
“He’s an irreplaceable player for our team,” goaltender Jake Oettinger said Wednesday night after shutting out the New Jersey Devils. “Just obviously feel horrible for him, and he deserved a lot better than that. It’s kind of hard to put into words when you lose a guy like that, and it’s going to take the whole team: forwards, D and goalies. Everyone’s got to be 1% better to try to make up for that loss.”
Seguin got tangled up with Rangers defenseman Vladislav Gavirkov in the first period Tuesday night. Seguin went down in pain, could not skate and needed help from multiple teammates and an athletic trainer to get off the ice and more assistance to get down the tunnel to the visiting locker room area at Madison Square Garden.
Gulutzan said the team did not get positive news about Seguin’s knee after it was looked at more closely.
“There’s lots of injuries piling up and lots of games, so we just got to keep moving forward,” Gulutzan said. “There’s lots of guys that their opportunity is born from some of this misfortune. We just have to take that away: It’s next guy up, next guy’s opportunity and run with it. That’s what good teams do is they just keep pushing forward with the players that they have.”
Seguin missed the vast majority of last season after undergoing hip surgery. He returned for the finale and the Stars’ playoff run to the Western Conference final. He has been with Dallas since joining in a trade from Boston in 2013.
“After seeing the grind he went through last year — all the hard work he put in to getting back into the lineup — and then for that to happen again obviously sucks,” captain Jamie Benn said. “It’s not great, and there’s not much you can say to the guy. Just some tough news.”
Nathan Bastian took Seguin’s spot in the lineup at New Jersey, while Benn moved to his longtime teammate’s place on right wing alongside Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz. That line was responsible for two of the Stars’ three goals in their first game since losing Seguin.
“He’s so important for this team on the ice and off the ice,” Hintz said. “But now we just have to adjust and next man up and be ready to play without him for a while.”
Long term, the team hopes center Matt Duchene is able to help fill the void once he returns from his injury. That could come “sooner than later” if Duchene’s current progress continues, according to Gulutzan.
“You’re going to have to have other guys step up,” Gulutzan said. “If Duchy comes back, he’s going to have to take some of that. (Mavrik Bourque is) going to get more opportunity. There’s going to be more opportunity for more guys, and then you’re going to see who takes it. So, you’re not really pigeonholing anybody. You’re just seeing who grabs it.”
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
By STEPHEN WHYNO
AP Hockey Writer
