With Trevor Daley out 2-4 weeks, Stars' playoff hopes take another shot

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Slumping and without leading scorer Tyler Seguin, the Stars' playoff aspirations already were slim before Trevor Daley's injury prognosis. Now they're pretty much shot.

The veteran defenseman will miss two to four weeks after he was injured Tuesday in a knee-on-knee hit by Islanders forward Matt Martin. Stars coach Lindy Ruff confirmed the recovery timeline for the "lower-body" injury Thursday.

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Daley, 31, had been enjoying the best season of his 11-year career, leading all Dallas defensemen with 16 goals. His 33 points and 23:07 time on ice are second on the team among blueliners. 

Martin was suspended one game by the NHL on Wednesday for kneeing Daley while attempting to finish a check at open ice, resulting in an awkward collision. Martin, a frequent offender, was issued a major penalty for kneeing and a game misconduct.

If a glimmer of hope remains for the Stars, they can find some comfort in knowing Seguin's recovery from a knee injury of his own is going better than planned.

Seguin, who sprained his MCL last month on an illegal hit from Florida’s Dmitry Kulikov, has resumed skating with the team and is considered ahead of schedule. He's missed nine games, and the Stars have gone just 2-5-2 in his absence.

Ruff told reporters Thursday that Seguin could be back within the week.

“Tyler is really closing in on 'day to day’ for us,” Ruff said. “So I would say probably within a week … or sooner. It depends on how he responds to some heavy workouts here today and tomorrow.”

With 66 points, the Stars will need to make up significant ground over their final 18 games. They trail the Wild by nine points for the final Western Conference wild-card spot.

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Brandon Schlager is an assistant managing editor at The Sporting News.