Pavelski out for Stars vs. Wild in Game 2 of Western 1st Round
Forward in concussion protocol after being injured on Dumba hit in opener
The forward was injured in with 7:58 remaning in the second period of Game 1 when he was checked by Minnesota defenseman Matt Dumba; at the same time, Minnesota forward Ryan Hartman was closing in, and Pavelski was hit in the face by Hartman's stick, which got caught between Dumba and Pavelski.
Pavelski's head hit the ice when he fell, and he was helped off by teammate Mason Marchment and a trainer.
Dumba was assessed a roughing minor.
"I talked to him, he came in this morning," Stars coach Peter DeBoer said Wednesday. "He's in concussion protocol, I don't think that's a secret. Just getting better every day. He looked better today from my perspective in talking to him."
Minnesota won 3-2 in double overtime at Dallas. Game 2 of the best-of-7 series is here Wednesday (9:30 p.m. ET; ESPN2, SN360, TVAS2, BSSW, BSNX).
"Obviously a massive part of this group," forward Luke Glendening said. "We're going to miss him for sure. Our goal is to allow him to play again in this playoffs, and that starts again tonight."
On Tuesday, DeBoer said the Stars were prepared to play without Pavelski.
"We're going to look at all those options and line combinations and things," DeBoer said. "We didn't score a 5-on-5 goal last night, so that's a little bit of a concern. We'll come up with some combinations that hopefully can solve that problem."
RELATED: [Complete Stars vs. Wild series coverage]
Pavelski had 77 points (28 goals, 49 assists) in 82 regular-season games, finishing third in scoring on Dallas behind Jason Robertson (109 points; 46 goals, 63 assists) and forward Jamie Benn (78 points; 33 goals, 45 assists). He had 27 power-play points, including 13 goals, which tied Robertson and Benn for the Stars lead.
After Pavelski left Game 1, forward Tyler Seguin took his spot on the top line at right wing with Robertson and center Roope Hintz. Seguin is expected to replace Pavelski in Game 2. Ty Dellandrea is projected at right wing with Marchment and center Max Domi on the third line. Wyatt Johnston will likely skate between Benn and Evgenii Dadonov on the second line.
"The mentality is the same, next man up," Seguin said. "You go out there and do your job no matter who you're with, focus on your own details. That's all you can do at this point of the year.
"You get in these games, a lot of times, you're playing with so many different guys, things can happen, like double overtimes on a Monday. You focus on that next shift, staying in that moment."
Pavelski was on the first power-play unit, which capitalized twice in the second period of Game 1; Hintz scored at 2:08, three seconds into Dallas' first power play, and Robertson scored at 4:13, six seconds into the second opportunity, with Pavelski having the secondary assist. The Stars did not score on the three power plays they had after Pavelski was injured. Seguin also took Pavelski's place on the first power-play unit.
"I mean, how important is Joe to every situation he plays in for our group? But probably they're saying the same about
[Joel] Eriksson Ek
," DeBoer said of the Wild forward who missed Game 1 with a lower-body injury. "It's this time of year, that's what you deal with, next man up and you have to handle that adversity."
It wasn't the first time Pavelski has left a playoff game with a serious injury. He sustained a concussion when, as captain of the San Jose Sharks in Game 7 of the Western Conference First Round in 2019, he was cross-checked by Vegas Golden Knights forward
Cody Eakin
following a face-off and then run into by Golden Knights forward Paul Stastny, knocking an off-balance Pavelski to the ice. He hit his head and had to be helped to the dressing room.
Pavelski returned in Game 7 of the second round against the Colorado Avalanche, getting a goal and an assist to help the Sharks advance to the conference final, where they lost to the eventual Cup champion St. Louis Blues in six games.
DeBoer was the coach of that Sharks team.
"I remember the last time he went through that. Obviously I was front and center for that in San Jose," DeBoer said. "I think he was in a much worse place that time than he was this time, though obviously still pretty bad."
The Stars hope Pavelski will be back soon but will be motivated to win for him in his absence.
"You want to rally around it," Seguin said. "It leaves a pit in your stomach when things like that happen. So yeah, it's emotional, it's a hard guy to lose and we have to respond for him."
NHL.com independent correspondent Taylor Baird contributed to this report
