It's been a disappointing start to the 2014-15 season for the Dallas Stars, and they suffered another tough break on Saturday when the team announced that winger Valeri Nichushkin will miss four months due to hip surgery.
Nichushkin, 19, has been banged up for most of the season and has been limited to only four games, recording zero points on the season.
The Stars' first-round pick in 2013, No. 10 overall, Nichushkin looked like an emerging star in his first year in the league while playing mostly on Dallas' top line alongside Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin.
After making the playoffs last season and a couple of big moves over the offseason the Stars were one of the hot picks to take a big step forward this season, but they have won only six of their first 16 games and have struggled to keep the puck out of their net and get much scoring beyond their top line.
