Ruff Updates Injured Stars; Russell, Seguin Questionable

Following Tuesday’s practice in St. Paul, Coach Lindy Ruff offered some updates on injured players for the Dallas Stars.

Importantly, star forward Tyler Seguin was not present. He remained in Dallas in advance of Game 3 at Xcel Energy Center despite having returned to game action for Game 2.

It was said prior to Game 3 that Seguin had “irritated something” in his return, and that the irritation was not related to the 15 percent laceration of his Achilles tendon that kept him out of the lineup for a month.

At that point Ruff said Seguin is day-to-day and could be called up to St. Paul if they need him. A return for Game 4 wasn’t ruled out, but Seguin was not in St. Paul for Tuesday’s practice.

Defenseman Kris Russell also missed Game 3 due to illness. He was at practice Tuesday, practicing with defensive partner Jason Demers, but Ruff made it sound like Russell is far from a certainty for Game 4.

“We’ll see. He hasn’t been feeling well for a while, so it might take more than just tomorrow,” Ruff said, according to the Dallas Morning News’ Mike Heika. “But he can be an option if all of the sudden he feels a lot better than he has been.”

A little bit of Column A; a little bit of Column B.

Additionally, captain Jamie Benn was not present at Tuesday’s practice. Ruff said that it’s a maintenance day for the 2015 Art Ross winner.

Asked if there was anything to worry about there, Ruff replied, “I just gave him a maintenance day, I thought it would be the best thing for him. No nothing. The fans don’t need to worry, there’s nothing to worry about.”

Game 4 will take place Wednesday in St. Paul. Dallas currently holds a 2-1 lead in the series.