"He only has a few teeth left": Chris Tanev loses a tooth after collision with Nathan MacKinnon, confirms Stars HC 

By Abhishek Dilta

Modified May 16, 2024 04:47 GMT

Dallas Stars head coach Pete DeBoer confirmed that defenseman Chris Tanev lost at least one tooth after a collision in Game 5 against the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday.

Early in the game, Chris Tanev and Nathan MacKinnon had a collision near the Stars' defensive zone. As MacKinnon was trying to skate past the other way, his shoulder accidentally hit Tanev in the face.

The collision caused Tanev to lose at least one tooth in the process. After taking the hit, the Stars defenseman went to the locker room and was seen holding his tooth in his hand as he made his way off the ice.

Here's a video of the incident:

Speaking to ESPN's Emily Kaplan, DeBoer said of Tanev:

“Warrior…. He only has a few teeth, not sure how many he has left.”

DeBoer also noted that his tooth got pushed in and they had to remove it to allow Tanev to continue playing (via Lia Assimakopoilos of Dallas News on X):

"He doesn’t have many teeth left. He didn’t have many to begin with. But from what I understood, it got pushed in. They had to pull it in order for him to come back. He didn’t miss much, though.”

Notably, this is not the first time the 34-year-old veteran has lost his teeth on the ice. In 2018, Tanev suffered an injury during a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs when a deflected puck struck him in the mouth, resulting in the loss of six and a half teeth.

The incident left him in pain and changed his appearance drastically. Incredibly, Chris Tanev was able to make a comeback and return to the ice just a few days later.

Chris Tanev's Stars lose Game 5 to Avalanche

On Wednesday night, the Colorado Avalanche eased past the Dallas Stars, 5-3 to stave off elimination in Game 5. The Stars lead the series 3-2.

Joe Pavelski put the Stars up 1-0 after scoring a one-timer at 9:03 of the first period. Arturri Lehkonen tied it for the Avs after scoring on the power play with less than five seconds remaining before the second period.

NHL: Stanley Cup Playoffs-Colorado Avalanche at Dallas Stars

Miro Hieskanen gave Dallas a 2-1 lead at 11:39 of the second period after scoring on the power play. Cale Makar scored for the Avs and made it 2-2 before heading into the final period.

The Avs delivered a strong performance in the third. Goals from Casey Mittelstadt and Makar in under five minutes gave Colorado a 4-2 advantage. Just over a minute later, Logan Stankoven cut the deficit to 4-3 for the Stars, before Nathan MacKinnon's goal with less than four minutes remaining secured the Game 5 win for the Avs.

Game 6 is scheduled to take place on Friday at Ball Arena.