Lindy Ruff addresses the media after practice here.
The Stars on Monday returned to the practice ice after having Sunday off.
Lines were basically the same, although Sergei Gonchar (ankle) and Val Nichushkin (hip/groin) returned to a regular practice for the first time in weeks. That said, coach Lindy Ruff said not to expect either of the injured players to jump back into the lineup anytime soon.
“Both guys are progressing,” Ruff said. They’re going to need a little time to get back in the grind, but we’re at stage 1 and we’re going to move them along.”
Asked if there was a possibility either could play this week, Ruff said: “I don’t think so, no. They haven’t had any practice time, it’s going to take them a bit. Sergei, medically, won’t be cleared for this week anyway, but he can get back to practice.”
Gonchar suffered a fractured bone in his ankle during training camp and has not played a game yet. Nichushkin has been battling hip and groin soreness since the summer. He played sporadically during the preseason, played the first two games, and then was shut down to rest.
Practice lines looked like this:
Jamie Benn-Jason Spezza-Tyler Seguin
Antoine Roussel-Cody Eakin-Ryan Garbutt
Patrick Eaves-Vern Fiddler-Ales Hemsky
Erik Cole-Shawn Horcoff-Colton Sceviour
Alex Goligoski-Trevor Daley
Jordie Benn-Brenden Dillon
Jamie Oleksiak-Kevin Connauton/Jyrki Jokipakka
Kari Lehtonen
Anders Lindback
Lindback also was a big story. The 26-year-old goalie had a hard night in a 7-5 loss to the New York Islanders Saturday. Stars coach Lindy Ruff said Lindback’s teammates allowed several breakaways, but also said that there were conversations with Lindback about how he can be better.
“I had a meeting with him,” Ruff said. “He is really hard on himself. My job is to help support him. He knows he needs to play better. His practice habits and everything are good. We’re talking about some things – we’re talking about options to get him playing better.”