DALLAS – Defenseman Miro Heiskanen was activated from long-term injured reserve Tuesday, meaning he could return to the Dallas Stars lineup for the first time in 3 1/2 months when they play Game 4 of their second-round NHL playoff series against Winnipeg.
Stars coach Pete DeBoer said earlier Tuesday that he anticipated Heiskanen would play that night's game if all went well coming out of the optional morning skate.
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Heiskanen missed the last 32 regular-season games and the first 10 playoff games. He injured his left knee against Vegas on Jan. 28 when taking a big hit from Golden Knights captain Mark Stone, and had surgery in February.
Before getting hurt this season, the 25-year-old Heiskanen had 25 points (five goals, 20 assists) in his 50 games.
Now in his seventh NHL season, all with the Stars, he had 61 points (16 goals) in 85 playoff games before Tuesday night.
Heiskanen was the third overall pick in the 2017 NHL draft. The native of Finland is in the fourth season of the $67.6 million, eight-year contract he signed four summers ago.
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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl