Two years ago, the Dallas Stars opened the season with a string of losses on the blue line. The team iced 14 different defenders, including Ben Gleason — a player who wasn’t even on the team’s radar until an unexpected showing at the Traverse City prospects tournament.
For the most part, players stepped up, and the team pulled through enough to get their top pairs reunited in the later portions of the season.
The current version of the Stars is on the verge of facing a similar situation within the forward group. Tyler Seguin was known to be out, and Blake Comeau is going through a prescribed protocol.