Finally, the day every Stars fan has been waiting for. John Klingberg is back in the Dallas Stars Line up! Klingberg has been out since November 8th, after he blocked a shot by Evander Kane. Klingberg underwent surgery on his hand the next day, doctors had to place 8 screws and 2 plates into the defenseman’s hand.
The past 6 weeks have been long and rough without Klingberg in the line up. Without him, the Stars have hovered at the .500 mark, managing a record of 8-8-2 since Klingberg’s departure. Before Klingberg was injured the team was playing 9-6-1, and this stat alone sings to just how important John Klingberg is to the Dallas Stars. Following morning practice, head coach Jim Montgomery spoke with the media and when asked about the importance of Klingberg Monty said:
“When he went down, we’ve had a lot of players step up and play really important minutes, but we’ve been .500 since he’s been out. We’re not a .500 team when he’s in, so that speaks to his importance to our team.”
Although the defense was missing their #1 Star, the group managed well, following their stand-in leader Esa Lindell. Taylor Fedun has really stepped up his game in order to help the Stars out, playing more minutes, picking up the slack when needed. Overall, the Stars defense has been better than average for a group missing their Star player.
John Klingberg will make his return in tonight’s (December 20th) game against the Chicago Blackhawks, playing on the top pair with Esa Lindell. This game will be the first time since October 30th that Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, John Klingberg, and Alexander Radulov have all been in the line up at the same times.
On other injury news, Connor Carrick is back to practicing with the team. Carrick has been out since October 28th with a lower body injury. Stephen Johns has also been skating with the team. Johns has been out all season with Post-Traumatic Headaches.
Klingberg’s return will only bring good things to the Stars in the games to come. The puck drops tonight at 7:30 PM CT against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Be Loud. Wear Green. Go Stars!
Featured Image: CBS Sports
