The Dallas Stars will hope that a scary moment in Saturday's Game 4 loss to the Minnesota Wild doesn't turn into an extended absence for defenceman Nils Lundkvist.
Lundkvist was unable to return to the game after taking the skate of Wild forward Michael McCarron off the face in the second period.
McCarron's skate came up and hit Lundkvist as the two battled for a puck in front of Dallas's net.
The 25-year-old Lundkvist went down the tunnel immediately. He had logged 10:32 of ice time before exiting.
After the game, which ended as a 3-2 Wild OT win, Stars head coach Glen Gulutzan said that Lundkvist suffered "a deep facial (cut)" on the play and that he will be looked at when the team returns to Dallas.
Lundkvist had been a reliable piece of the Stars blue line through the first three games of the series. He entered Saturday with two assists and a plus-1 rating so far this post-season.
During the regular season, he skated in 52 games with Dallas, recording three goals and 11 points.
Game 5 goes Tuesday in Dallas, as both teams will aim for a pivotal win with the series knotted at 2-2.
