Roope Hintz had a serious injury scare during the Dallas Stars’ 4-0 season-opening loss to the St. Louis Blues on Friday.
Hintz took a knee-on-knee hit from Blues defenseman Brandon Carlo 2:49 into the third period. The Stars forward went down holding his left knee and needed help leaving the ice before Carlo received a five-minute major for kneeing and a game misconduct.
Hintz, playing his first regular-season game since March, feared the worst after the collision.
“Feeling fine,” Hintz said after the game. “I think I got a little lucky there. At first I thought something happened really bad. But I got back there pretty quick.”
The Blues traded for Carlo this summer, sending the Toronto Maple Leafs the No. 73 and No. 76 picks in the 2026 NHL Draft in exchange for the veteran defenseman. Before Friday’s ejection, Carlo had never been suspended.
Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen criticized Carlo’s hit while expressing relief that Hintz returned.
“Not great to see,” Heiskanen said. “That was a dirty hit, and you don’t want to see that happen. Hopefully, he’s good and not bigger issues or anything. But it was great to see him back pretty quickly after that.”
Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
The scare came in Hintz’s first game of the season, and after he was limited to 53 games last year. He failed to score a point on Friday after recording 15 goals and 29 assists for 44 total points last campaign.
Dallas will visit Nashville on Saturday at 8 p.m., trying to win its first game this season against the Predators.
