Injured veterans Hanzal, Methot not ready to return for Stars

The Stars will keep center Martin Hanzal off the ice until Tuesday as they try to get him up and running from a nagging lower-body injury.

"We want this to be not a stop-and-go thing. We want it to be fixed so he can play and practice and maintain a competitive level," Stars coach Ken Hitchcock said. "We're buying a couple of days, so he is going to start skating on the second of January or begin to amp up on the second of January. We've pulled him right off the ice."
Hanzal sat out Friday's game against St. Louis with the issue. Before that, he had been in the lineup for seven straight games after missing seven games with a hamstring injury. Hitchcock said the injuries are related and the team now believes it has a handle on the issue.

"It's all connected, and it's figuring out what causes the discomfort in all the areas," Hitchcock said. "We figured it out, got it resolved, and now we're working towards making him 100 percent."
As for when Hanzal could return to play, that's still up in the air. The hope is he will be fully up to speed and ready to skate on Jan. 2.
"We're not sure on [when he'll play] right now," Hitchcock said. "Our view is when he starts off he should be starting up at 100 percent. It's nagging him, and this is a way to resolve it by not aggravating it."

Defenseman Marc Methot skated Saturday, but he is not ready to return just yet. The Stars were hopeful that Methot, who has been out since Nov. 6 and underwent knee surgery on Nov. 20, could be but his return will have to wait until after the new year.
"He's not in the condition or the fitness or the durability where he is able to play," Hitchcock said. "We're going to hold him back until we are 100 percent that he is 100 percent endurance-wise. He's not up to speed."
As for when Methot could play, Hitchcock said sometime after the new year and before the Stars take their bye week which will come after the Jan. 6 game against Edmonton.

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Mark Stepneski is an independent writer whose posts on DallasStars.com reflect his own opinions and do not represent official statements from the Dallas Stars. You can follow Mark on Twitter at @StarsInsideEdge.