Klingberg undergoes surgery, will miss at least four weeks

Stars defenseman John Klingberg underwent surgery on his hand Friday and is expected to be out at least four weeks.
Klingberg was injured in the third period of Thursday's game against San Jose when he blocked a shot by Sharks forward Evander Kane.
Klingberg's injury puts the Stars down four defensemen. Marc Methot (lower body), Connor Carrick (foot), and Stephen Johns (post-traumatic headaches) are also out.

Methot appears the closest to a return. He practiced Friday but left early. He won't play Saturday against Nashville, so the next possible date for his return would be Monday against Columbus.
"We're hoping (for Monday), but he left practice early today, and it didn't look like he could skate with authority, so that's a question mark," Stars coach Jim Montgomery said.
The Stars recalled defenseman Joel Hanley from the Texas Stars of the AHL. Hanley has played well in Texas where he has carried a big load with Gavin Bayreuther and Reece Scarlett out with injury and Dillon Heatherington now with Dallas.
Hanley will be in the lineup Saturday against the Predators.
"He's been carrying [Texas] at the back end," Montgomery said. "We really liked him in camp. We love his decision making, he's got high-end hockey sense, and he's got the feet to be able to break pucks out."
The 27-year-old Hanley has played 22 NHL games with both Montreal and Arizona, including five with the Coyotes last season.

"You're not going to replace a guy like Klingberg obviously," Hanley said. "Just try to be steady and reliable. Whatever game I was playing down there play up here. Don't try to be too special, just play my game."
Klingberg is a big loss for the Stars. He leads the team in ice time per game (25:03), ranks second on the team in points (13), is tied for second in goals (five), and plays both sides of special teams.
"[We'll miss] his skills, how he can break out the pucks alone. His jokes and his presence in the locker room, too," said Stars defenseman Esa Lindell. "Now it's an opportunity for other guys to step up. It's a big opportunity for the d-men to show what they've got."
Klingberg is Lindell's usual partner on defense. After Klingberg went out Thursday, Julius Honka skated with Lindell, and those two were a pair again in Friday's practice. Honka is one of the players the Stars will count on to step up over the next month or so with Klingberg out.
"Like I said to him today, 'Here's your opportunity to show everybody that you can be not just a regular NHL player, but a player to be reckoned with in the NHL,'" Montgomery said. "He's got to embrace that opportunity. He's got to take care of himself off the ice because he is going to get increased minutes. He's got to go out and show everyone what he thinks he is. We believe in him, and he's got to go out and show it to everybody."
Rookie defenseman Miro Heiskanen will take over Klingberg's role as the quarterback of the top power-play unit. Montgomery said he is leaning toward going with four forwards and one defenseman and that the 19-year-old Heiskanen is more than ready to take over Klingberg's responsibilities there.
"He's a hockey player," Montgomery said. "Hey, you just tell him something, you know what we're talking about? All he says is yeah, and he goes out and does it. I'd like to take credit for what he is, but you know what, he's just special."
The Stars likely will mix and match defense pairs the way they have in recent games, but the pairs in Friday's practice looked like this for the most part:
Esa Lindell - Julius Honka
Miro Heiskanen - Roman Polak
Dillon Heatherington - Joel Hanley

Hanzal looks 'pretty good' in session with team

Martin Hanzal practiced with the team Friday and looked good.
Stars coach Jim Montgomery was encouraged by what he saw from Hanzal.
"Oh, very much so, he looked pretty good out there," Montgomery said. "Hopefully with a couple more practices with us and then getting full clearance, he'll be a player for us, I hope, by the end of this month for sure."

Radulov among those out of practice

Alexander Radulov (lower body), Connor Carrick (foot), Brett Ritchie (upper body illness/inflammation), and Stephen Johns (post-traumatic headaches) did not practice Friday.
Radulov was placed on injured reserve retroactive to Oct. 30, so he is eligible to come off any time.
No changes expected in the Stars' forward lines for Saturday's game based on practice. Here's how the forwards lined up.
Devin Shore - Tyler Seguin - Valeri Nichushkin
Jamie Benn - Jason Spezza - Denis Gurianov
Blake Comeau - Radek Faksa - Tyler Pitlick
Mattias Janmark - Jason Dickinson - Gemel Smith
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mark Stepneski has covered the Stars for DallasStars.com since 2012. Follow him on Twitter @StarsInsideEdge.