VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -Dallas Stars forward Eric Lindros returned for Game 5 against the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night after missing six weeks with a groin injury.
Lindros hasn’t played since March 8, missing the final 16 regular-season games and the first four of the playoffs. He returned with the Stars facing elimination, trailing 3-1 in the best-of-seven quarterfinal series.
“Big lift, big guy,” Mike Modano said after the morning skate. “It could be a great addition for us just to get in there and be a good presence for us as a big guy.”
Lindros had five goals and 21 assists in 49 games in his first season in Dallas, including a goal and an assist against the Canucks, but hasn’t scored since Nov. 20.
“I feel pretty good,” said Lindros, adding over the last three days he skated “briskly.”
The first pick in the 1991 draft and the NHL MVP in 1995, Lindros came into the playoffs averaging 0.48 points per game, tops in the league. But he hasn’t appeared in the playoffs since being knocked unconscious by New Jersey’s Scott Stevens in the Eastern Conference finals in 2000.
“He’s a big body,” coach Dave Tippett said. “If he can get in there and give us some push to the net, he could be a good player for us.”
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