Golden Knights defenseman Nic Hague will miss a second straight game with a lower-body injury and will not play in Game 3 against the Dallas Stars on Saturday, coach Bruce Cassidy said. Hague is still termed day-to-day after leaving in the third period of Game 1 on Monday. Veteran defenseman Alec Martinez took his spot in the lineup for Game 2 on Wednesday and is expected to do so again.
“Nothing new to report. Won’t be in the lineup,” Cassidy said. “We’ll keep him as day-to-day for now.”
It was a maintenance-heavy practice Friday, with some notable names not attending. Center William Karlsson, right wing Jonathan Marchessault, left wing Ivan Barbashev and defenseman Alex Pietrangelo were all absent, but are expected to play Saturday.
The Knights lead the best-of-seven first-round playoff series 2-0 after winning the first two games at American Airlines Center.
“We’ve been a pretty good home team all year,” defenseman Shea Theodore said. “If we can start on time and keep the pressure on, I like our chances.”
Martinez played 15:30 in his postseason debut and tied the team lead with Theodore with four blocked shots. The pairing of Martinez and Zach Whitecloud was not on the ice for any goals allowed, but the Knights were outshot 9-6 with them on the ice.
Meanwhile, the Dallas Stars have recalled top prospect Mavrik Bourque to the NHL roster due to injuries to their forward group. Bourque won the Les Cunningham Award as the American Hockey League’s Most Valuable Player on Thursday after recording 77 points in 71 games.
The 22-year-old forward was the 30th overall selection in the 2020 draft by Dallas. Forwards Mason Marchment and Radek Faksa left in the third period Wednesday with undisclosed injuries. Coach Pete DeBoer said they are progressing and are day-to-day, but their status for Game 3 is undetermined.
If Bourque does play, it’s another young player in the Stars’ lineup who could be asked to make an impact. Dallas’ third line is centered by 22-year-old Wyatt Johnston, with 21-year-old Logan Stankoven at right wing. Stars captain Jamie Benn, 34, is the elder statesman at left wing.
Johnston had a 65-point regular season (32 goals, 33 assists), while Stankoven was a late call-up and had 14 points in 24 games.
“The internal growth of those guys have been the most important factor,” DeBoer said. “Those kids, their development last year to this year … those guys have played a critical role in the depth of our team, the success we had in the regular season.”
