Stars defenseman Nils Lundkvist avoids hospital after taking a skate to the face

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DALLAS (AP) — Dallas Stars defenseman Nils Lundkvist avoided having to go to the hospital after taking a skate to his face, though coach Glen Gulutzan had no further update Sunday.

Lundkvist suffered a deep laceration after taking an inadvertent skate to the left side of his face during the second period of Dallas' 3-2 overtime loss at Minnesota on Saturday that tied the best-of-seven first-round series at 2-2.

Stars players had the day off Sunday, when Gulutzan spoke to reporters on a Zoom call and said he was waiting for an update after a further examination of Lundkvist. But the coach said Lundkvist never had to to go the hospital for the cut.

Game 5 is Tuesday night in Dallas.

On the play where he go hurt, Lundkvist was called for a tripping penalty. As Michael McCarron tumbled over, his skate inadvertently caught the face of the Stars defenseman, who was bleeding when he immediately went to the Dallas bench and then down the tunnel.

Lundkvist signed a two-year, $3.5 million contract that was announced just before the start of the playoffs and goes through the 2027-28 season.

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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl