Stars recall Stanley Cup-winning defenseman ahead of opening-round series

Dallas Stars defenseman Derrick Pouliot.

The Stars have made a pair of additions to their roster heading into their opening-round series against Vegas.  The team announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Derrick Pouliot and goaltender Matt Murray from AHL Texas.

Pouliot, who won the Stanley Cup with the Penguins in 2016, has spent most of the season in the minors, getting into 64 AHL contests where he has been quite productive, notching nine goals and 37 assists, setting new personal benchmarks across the board.  That helped earn him five appearances with Dallas where he was held off the scoresheet while logging just over a dozen minutes a night of ice time.

Jani Hakanpaa is making progress in coming back from a lower-body injury that has kept him out for the last month, but he’s not quite ready to return.  It appears Pouliot will be the seventh defenseman while waiting for Hakanpaa to eventually return.

As for Murray, his addition to the roster isn’t due to an injury to either Jake Oettinger or Scott Wedgewood.  Instead, the team has termed his recall as “for purposes of emergency during the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.”  There are no emergency (EBUG) options in the postseason so teams will often make sure to have a third netminder on hand which Murray will serve as.

The 26-year-old played in one NHL contest this season, collecting a 23-save shutout over Minnesota back in January.  Meanwhile, he got into 31 contests in Texas, posting a 14-15-2 record with a 3.02 goals-against average and a save percentage of .896.

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