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Stars Forward Suffered Brutal Injury vs. Oilers

One of the Dallas Stars' top forwards missed time during the Western Conference Final due to injury.

Jon Alfano

Dallas Stars center Roope Hintz reacts after being injured against the Edmonton Oilers.
Dallas Stars center Roope Hintz reacts after being injured against the Edmonton Oilers. / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
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NHL players are no strangers to playing through injuries in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but seemingly every year, there's always an injury or two that comes out after a team is eliminated and makes everyone say "how did he play through that?"

For instance, Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill confirmed Saturday that star forward Roope Hintz suffered a foot fracture on a slash from Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse in Game 2 of the Western Conference Final on May 23. Hintz, 28, missed Game 3 due to injury before returning to the lineup for Games 4 and 5.

Nurse originally received a major penalty on the play, but officials downgraded it to only a minor. He also received no supplemental discipline from the department of player safety.

After the game, Stars head coach Peter DeBoer was furious about the play, implying that the officials didn't properly protect his player.

"Does anyone in this room think if Connor McDavid gets carried off the ice like that that it's not a five-minute major? That's my answer to your question," DeBoer told reporters.

Hintz was visibly limited after his return to the lineup, particularly in his skating ability. He scored a goal in Game 5, however. Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard also slashed him on the same foot in Game 4.

Hintz finished the postseason with 12 points (six goals, six assists) in 17 games. He had the third most points on the team behind Thomas Harley and fellow Finn Mikko Rantanen.

The Stars lost in the Western Conference Final for the third straight year, and to the Oilers for the second straight year as well.

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Jon Alfano
JON ALFANO

Jon is a lead writer for Baltimore Ravens On SI and contributes to other sites around the network as well. The Tampa native previously worked with sites such as ClutchPoints and GiveMeSport and earned his journalism degree at the University of Central Florida.

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