What the Best-Case and Worst-Case Playoff Lineups Could Look Like for the Banged-Up Dallas Stars

There's good news, and there's also Other News

As you know by now, the Dallas Stars are not quite fully healthy. Far less than that, in fact. Tyler Seguin has been lost for the season, Miro Heiskanen’s return is projected in terms of hope rather than certainty, and Roope Hintz has played a grand total of 11 minutes of hockey since February 26.

NHL Injury Viz has many charts worth your time, but here’s one that puts it plainly, I think:

Injured, but good: the 2025-26 Dallas Stars - NHL Injury Viz

While being good in spite of injury is certainly better than being bad as a result of it, the Stars are nevertheless in the unenviable position of having to create new chemistry rather than relying on existing combinations of forwards or defensemen. Absence, in sports, breeds many things besides fondness.

Still, the Stars beat Colorado last year without both of Heiskanen and Jason Robertson, which continues to be incredible. They also rallied after Heiskanen’s latest injury to score four even-strength goals against Minnesota last week, which has to have meant something. As we’ve said since the earliest parts of the season, the Dallas Stars are a team with a very high floor.

So in preparation for the beginning of the postseason, I wanted to run through a couple of the possible lineups the Stars could have for Game 1 against the Wild, depending on the status of a few different players. Let’s talk about a couple of those combinations, and discuss what it might all mean.

One last note: both goalies are a given in all of these lineups, so please take Jake Oettinger and Casey DeSmith’s spots as read.

Another final note: These lineups are my best guess at what I think the team would do, not necessarily what I personally might recommend, though I’ll interject a little of my thoughts along the way.