On Wednesday afternoon, before the Dallas Stars game against the Anaheim Ducks, Sean Shapiro of The Athletic reported that Martin Hanzal was going to be day-to-day on the injury report for the rest of the season. Hanzal would play against Anaheim, but would not know if he could play against the Los Angeles Kings until the following morning.
Later that night, Hanzal would leave the game after the first period with an undisclosed injury. After the game, it was announced that he would be returning to Dallas and would not finish the California road trip with the team.