The Dallas Stars are expected to get Radek Faksa and Michael Bunting back in the lineup on April 6 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, a timely boost as the club inches toward full strength before the postseason. Faksa is expected to come off injured reserve for the game, while Bunting is set to return after missing the first few weeks of April with a lower-body injury.
For Dallas, the return of Faksa matters beyond the simple fact of another body on the bench. He played 56 games this season, scoring two goals and 17 points while averaging 11:41 of ice time per game, and he brings a 52.4% career success rate in the faceoff dot. More than 70% of his shifts start in the defensive zone, which is why the Stars have leaned on him as a steady penalty killer and a shutdown forward against opponents' best players.
Faksa's path back has been far longer than the club first expected. He initially hurt his upper body during the Olympics while playing for Team Czechia, and the injury was thought at the time to keep him out only a game or two. Instead, he later suffered a lower-body injury during rehabilitation, and a few reports suggested his season might be over. Now he is expected to return on April 6, giving Dallas a needed option for the stretch run.
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Bunting's situation is less dramatic, but still important for a team trying to settle its lines before the playoffs. He was not placed on injured reserve, but he missed time with a lower-body injury after a rough start in Dallas. In 11 games following his trade-deadline arrival, he had one goal, two points and a minus-7 rating before the injury, a line that showed how much room he still had to find his footing. The meeting with Toronto gives both players a chance to rejoin a Stars club trying to sharpen itself for what comes next.
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That is the real value of April 6 for Dallas: not just two names back in the lineup, but a roster that is finally close enough to whole to start looking like a playoff team again.
