Dallas Stars forward Tyler Seguin has been officially ruled out of Thursday night’s Game One matchup with the Minnesota Wild, but the news isn’t all bad.
Stars coach Lindy Ruff told reporters that Seguin actually had a pretty encouraging week of work after returning to practice on Monday for the first time since cutting his Achilles on March 17, but that he just hasn’t done enough yet to convince the coaches he’s ready.
If it were Game Seven rather than Game One, Ruff says, Seguin would probably be playing.
"He's had really, in my eyes, one good practice," Ruff said, per Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News. "He had a practice earlier in the week I mentioned, that I thought was OK. The next day I thought he was better and the fact that playoff intensity is even ramped up more than the regular season. I want him to step in and not play OK. I want him to step in and really be ready.
"If this was a Game 7 he'd probably play. You'd take that chance. You'd take a kick at it. But right now, we're not there. These guys have done a terrific job. We can give him the opportunity of two more days of practice and really ramping it up, which gives him three full days and I think that will make him an even more hungrier and effective player."
