DALLAS — The Dallas Stars will be without their top-line center Roope Hintz for the trip to Minnesota for Games 3 and 4 of the first-round series. Hintz did not join the team Tuesday and remains sidelined after suffering a lower-body injury in early March and then encountering a setback during his recovery.

Coach Glen Gulutzan confirmed the center would not make the trip and reiterated that Hintz was not expected to play in Wednesday’s Game 3. The coach called Game 4 “very doubtful,” and the earliest realistic target for a return now looks to be Game 5 when the series returns to Dallas next week.

Hintz has not appeared in a game since the March 6 contest against Colorado, when he was engaged along the boards and went down holding the back of his left leg. The 29-year-old, in his eighth NHL season, needed assistance to leave the ice and was unable to put weight on the leg at the time.

Before the postseason began, Hintz represented Finland at the Olympics and then missed the Stars’ first four games after the Olympic break because of an illness. Gulutzan previously noted that Hintz still hadn’t resumed independent skating in the brief window between Games 1 and 2, so the club is being cautious with his timeline.

With the series even at 1-1—Dallas won 4-2 Monday after Minnesota dominated the opener 6-1—the Stars will have to adjust their lines and special teams without their top center. The team and staff said they remain hopeful that when the series moves back to Dallas, Hintz will be closer to returning to game action.