It’s not uncommon for NHL players to play through serious injuries in the playoffs, and Roope Hintz did for two games.
Stars GM Jim Nill confirmed to The Dallas Morning News Saturday that Hintz suffered a foot fracture from the slash he took from Darnell Nurse in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals.
The Dallas Stars center missed Game 3 of the series due to the injury, before suiting up for Games 4 and 5.
Nurse was assessed a minor penalty for the play but did not face any additional discipline from the league for the slash. The slash, which took place early in the third period of Game 2, was in retaliation after Hintz cross-checked Nurse in the back, though it wasn’t a penalty.
Sports Roundup
Darnell Nurse took a hack at Roope Hintz and Hintz needed help getting off the ice 🤕
The play was reviewed and Nurse got 2 minutes for slashing pic.twitter.com/82AKKd0KPl
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) May 24, 2025
Nurse’s slash was originally called a major penalty but was downgraded to a minor. Stars coach Pete DeBoer and Hintz’s teammates were frustrated by the officiating in that moment.
Hintz tried to skate through the pain, taking the ice for warmups in Game 3 before ultimately being scratched. He did return for Games 4 and 5 of the series, scoring a power-play goal in Game 5.
However, Hintz was limited in what he could do, and that was seen not long after his goal when Connor McDavid out-skated him to a loose puck and scored on a breakaway. While McDavid is one of the fastest players in the league, so is Hintz, and he may have had a better chance in winning that battle if it weren’t for his injury.
The Oilers also targeted Hintz’s injury after he returned. Defenseman Evan Bouchard slashed Hintz in the same foot in his first game back.
Hintz finished with 12 points (six goals and six assists) in 17 games.
Nill also confirmed to The News that Stars defenseman Nils Lundkvist was cleared last Monday by his surgeon for full contact in practice.
The right-shot defenseman was placed on long-term injured reserve back in February after undergoing shoulder surgery.
The surgery was ruled season-ending at the time, but Stars coach Pete DeBoer said early in the playoffs that if the Stars went deep enough, his return could be back on the table.
On X/Twitter: @Lassimak
Find more Stars coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.