The Dallas Stars could be missing a key contributor for Game 1 against the Avalanche

The Dallas Stars could be missing one of their best offensive players for Game 1 against the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday after he suffered a knee injury in the regular season finale

BY TRENT FINNEGAN

Apr 17, 2025, 10:13 AM

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Watch: Why haven't the Avs gotten a deal done with Cale Makar? | Stokley and Evans with Mark Schlereth | 1 min

The first round series between the Colorado Avalanche and the Dallas Stars kicks off on Saturday night from Dallas, who might not be at full strength for the series-opener. In the Stars’ final game of the regular season, a 5-1 loss against the Nashville Predators on Wednesday night, Jason Robertson left the contest with a knee injury and did not return, and the sight didn’t look good for Stars fans after the game.

Jason Robertson just left Bridgestone Arena with a brace on his right knee. Still looks to be in quite a bit of pain

— Emma Lingan (@emma_lingan) April 17, 2025

Robertson is an important piece of the Stars offense, as his 35 goals are the most on the team and his 45 assists are the second-most on the team. He’s only 25 years old, and has established himself as one of the best wingers in the entire NHL.

Stars head coach Pete DeBoer said that the team will have to get back to Dallas to further evaluate the injury, so an update on Robertson’s status for Game 1 could come as soon as Thursday.

Robertson has tallied four points (3G, 1A) in the three meetings between the Avalanche and the Stars this season. His presence on the ice will be solely missed if he can’t go on Saturday.

Injuries like this are why teams rest their players down the stretch of the season, like the Avalanche did with their Stars when the team traveled to Southern California for the final two games of the regular season last weekend. In a sport as physical as hockey, injuries can happen at any moment.

Pete DeBoer:

"The idea of resting people down the stretch was to try to avoid injuries… and unfortunately we didn't do that either with the [Jason] Robertson injury… so, tough night."

Said they have to wait to get back to Dallas to see what Robertson's injury looks like.

— Sam Nestler (@samnestler) April 17, 2025

The Stars will also be without Miro Heiskanen for Game 1 as well, as he is dealing with a knee injury of his own. Heiskanen, the best defenseman on the Dallas roster and the player that Dallas chose over Cale Makar in the 2017 Draft, hasn’t played since the end of January.

No one wants injuries to happen, but they’re a part of the game, and benefit the Avalanche in this aspect, who have been on the wrong side of playoff injury luck since winning the Stanley Cup in 2022.