DALLAS -- Roope Hintz will be a game-time decision for the Dallas Stars in Game 2 of the Western Conference Final against the Edmonton Oilers at American Airlines Center on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC).
The center has missed three games with an upper-body injury. He has been skating on his own and was with his teammates for an optional morning skate Saturday. Dallas trails the best-of-7 series 1-0.
Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said Hintz isn't on the level of Edmonton center Connor McDavid, but he asked rhetorically where the Oilers would be without their first-line center, or the New York Rangers would be without Mika Zibanejad. Hintz is 6-foot-3, 212 pounds, with speed.
"He's big," DeBoer said. "He skates. He's a 200-foot player. He's one of our best defensive players, one of our best penalty killers, creates offense. I don't know. Is there anything else on that list? He's physical."
Hintz has six points (two goals, four assists) in 11 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He led the Stars in goals (10), assists (14) and points (24) in the playoffs last season, playing 19 games on a run to the conference final.
"He drives the game," Dallas center Wyatt Johnston said. "He's awesome, so yeah, it would be great if he's in the lineup tonight. But if not, [it's] just other guys stepping up."
Hintz tied for third on the Stars in the regular season with 65 points and was second with 30 goals in 80 games. He averaged 2:35 of ice time on the power play and 1:09 short-handed, including scoring three short-handed goals, and won 56.2 percent of his face-offs (318-of-566).
