The Stars kept their Game 3 lineup decisions close to their chest at morning skate Saturday with coach Pete DeBoer announcing that both Mason Marchment and Radek Faksa will be game-time decisions. Neither took the ice for pregame warmups and both were ultimately scratched.
DeBoer labeled both forwards day-to-day Friday with undisclosed injuries. They each left the third period of Game 2 Wednesday night early and never returned. Faksa last touched the ice with 13:42 remaining, and Marchment did with 12:09 left.
The forwards were two of the most physically involved players in a battle on the ice Wednesday night. Vegas and Dallas combined for 108 hits. Dallas, alone, had 53 despite averaging just 17.8 per game in the regular season. Marchment tied for a team-high seven hits while Faksa had six.
The injuries caused DeBoer to shift all four of Dallas’ forward lines again entering Saturday’s game. Craig Smith and Ty Dellandrea entered on the fourth line in place of Marchment and Faksa.
They were as follows during warmups:
Robertson-Hintz-Johnston
Benn-Duchene-Stankoven
Dadonov-Seguin-Pavelski
Dellandrea-Steel-Smith
“We’ve tried to keep our combinations consistent most of the year,” he said. “We’ve had really good success. We haven’t finished with the underlying numbers showing we have had opportunities in a series where we all knew the opportunities weren’t going to be like they were in the regular season. I think you’ve got to be careful on overreacting to the situation. But everything’s on the table, depending on injuries.”
Marchment appeared in 81 games for the Stars this season and recorded a career-high 22 goals and 31 assists for 53 points. He also scored a goal in Game 1 of the series. Faksa skated in 74 regular-season games and recorded 19 points (seven goals and 12 assists).
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