Hintz shows character in still being 'dominant player' through injury

Roope Hintz is having a very curious season.
The 24-year-old center is dealing with a nagging lower-body injury that has caused him to miss 11 games this season, and the Stars really don't know if he is going to be in the lineup until he shows up for the game each night. However, he has played six of the last seven games and three in a row, and he had a career-best four-point night (one goal, three assists) in a 5-1 win over Chicago Thursday.
It was a display of just how important Hintz is to the Stars.

READ MORE: [Stars play the Hintz in dominant victory over Blackhawks]
"We can never forget, he's playing hurt," Stars coach Rick Bowness said. "Probably a lot of guys wouldn't play in the situation that he's in and what he's dealing with. Give him 100 percent marks for being gutty and (showing) the character to play. He's just a dominant player. He shows what he means to our team. He's our best forward."
Hintz has not really defined the injury or the process he goes through, but he says a lot when he says, "It's fine." The Stars need him right now, and so he's going to fight through it. And, he really does make the team a lot better when he's in the lineup.

"He's made so many leaps and bounds since he first came into Dallas, and now he is I think one of the most underrated players in the NHL," said forward Blake Comeau, who was on the scoring end of one of Hintz's assists. "The way that he skates, his big body, he can shoot, he's got great vision, great IQ, he's very responsible defensively. When he's out of the lineup, it's a huge loss for us. When he's in the lineup, it makes us a better team."
Hintz has 28 points (12 goals, 16 assists) in 27 games, so his offensive impact is obvious. He has helped make rookie Jason Robertson a much better player, and he has found chemistry with Joe Pavelski, who is having a great season. However, Bowness said Hintz also plays a role in making the Stars tough to play against. Hintz is 6-foot-3, 220 pounds and also is one of the team's fastest skaters, so he arrives quickly and he arrives with force.
"You guys are seeing points and goals like tonight. What we see also is how well he plays without the puck, how reliable he is defensively," said Bowness. "He's one of the top two-way centers in the league, and he'll keep getting better."
As for Hintz, he said he just wants to be on the ice.
"Just trying to play my best game every time I go out there," Hintz said. "I know I have to keep going."

Khudobin's quarantine experience? 'Nap, sleep, eat'

Anton Khudobin had a positive test Saturday morning in Carolina and had to quarantine in his hotel room for two days while he awaited the negative tests that would prove he was the victim of a false positive.
"It was a little bit weird when I got that test. I talked to the doctors. You come to the rink and they call you out and say, You've got to go back to the hotel, that is the policy.' There is no timeline for how long it will be, so you just have to stay in your room, and just wait on the test.<br>The process for the 34-year-old goalie was interesting, because he had already had a pretty serious case of COVID-19 in the off-season in Russia and that meant he was answering a lot of phone calls from friends.<br>"A lot of people asked me,What? Again?'" Khudobin said. "It looked like a false positive, so I'm just waiting."
And what did he do?

"Nap, sleep, eat," Khudobin said. "The weirdest thing was first game on Saturday, I started watching game and it was blacked out. As soon as we finished the game, it popped up again. I'm like, `Thanks.' That's the only funny thing. I wished I could watch the game, and I couldn't."
He said he watched through his phone then, "sleep, eat, sleep, eat, watch TV, watch computer."
Khudobin was great in his return Thursday, stopping 38 shots in a 5-1 victory. He was especially good early, when the Stars were on their heels and Chicago had several great scoring chances.
"He made some big saves for us," Comeau said. "He was able to keep us in it without getting out of hand."

Benn does 'great job' in move to center

The Stars have had all sorts of injury issues and have been shuffling forwards around.
Joe Pavelski currently is playing wing on a line with Hintz and Jason Robertson, and Jason Dickinson is on IR with a lower-body injury, so Bowness moved winger Jamie Benn to center Thursday.
Benn regularly played the position back when Joe Nieuwendyk was general manager from 2009-13, and has dabbled with it in recent years, but he really has primarily been a left wing for the past several seasons.

"We all have full faith in Jamie," Bowness said. "We need you to play center tonight.' And he did a great job. I know he probably preferred left wing, but he's such a great leader on this team.We need you to play center tonight,' and there's no talk. It's `Whatever you need, coach,' and you've got to love that."
Benn logged 17:46, had five hits and won 58 percent of his faceoffs (7-of-12). He also had two assists, including the 400th of his career.
"He played very well," Bowness said. "He's been playing really, really well. He hasn't had the support on his line that I would like to see. That's why I put him at center, because he's been skating really well, he's been a physical force, he's been a dominant player but he still needs to get some more help from his linemates. We're working on that."

Stars vs. Panthers

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This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heikais a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika, and listen to his podcast.