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Monday, October 18
Stars lose top defensive forward

SportsTicker

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Dallas Stars left wing Jere Lehtinen, winner of the last two Selke Trophies as the NHL's top defensive forward, will miss six to eight weeks after fracturing his right ankle in Saturday's 3-2 loss to the Nashville Predators.

Jere Lehtinen
Lehtinen

Lehtinen, who regularly plays with Mike Modano and Brett Hull on the Stars' top line, suffered the injury in the second period. He has one goal and two assists in seven games.

In addition to being the league's top defensive forward, Lehtinen had 20 goals and 32 assists for a career-high 52 points in 74 games last season.

He led the Stars and was tied for sixth in the NHL with a plus-29 rating. The 6-foot, 192-pound Finn added 10 goals and three assists in 23 playoff games as the Stars won their first Stanley Cup championship.

Last season, Lehtinen, 26, became the first player to win consecutive Selke Trophies since Dallas teammate Guy Carbonneau in 1988-89.

Lehtinen has 66 goals and 102 assists in 273 NHL games.

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