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Barring a setback, Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen is expected to return for Tuesday night’s Game 4 against the visiting Winnipeg Jets, Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said.

Heiskanen hasn’t played since injuring his knee in a Jan. 28 collision with Vegas Golden Knights forward Mark Stone. Initially expected to miss three to four months, the 25-year-old blueliner had surgery on Feb. 4 and sat out the final 32 games of the regular season.

Heiskanen left Tuesday morning’s optional skate in Dallas without talking to reporters, but teammate Jake Oettinger said he was looking forward to him returning to the ice.

“He’s the best defenseman in the NHL in my opinion. Whenever you can insert a guy like that it’s obviously a huge boost,” the Stars goalie said, per TSN.

“He makes my life a lot easier. He does so many good things and so many little things that people don’t realize. I mean, he’s our best player. When you can get your best player back, it’s huge.”

Heiskanen has 25 points (five goals, 20 assists) in 50 games this season while logging 25:10 of ice time per game, which ranked best on the Stars and fifth among all NHL defensemen.

Since being selected by Dallas with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, Heiskanen has recorded 283 points (58 goals, 225 assists) in 475 career games over seven seasons.

The Stars have a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinals going into Tuesday night’s matchup in Dallas. Game 5 is scheduled for Thursday in Winnipeg.

–Field Level Media

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