The Stars recently have given specific injury updates for D Marc Methot and C Martin Hanzal instead of the typical "upper body" or "lower body" descriptions, and coach Ken Hitchcock "wants to be somewhat transparent with fans," according to Mike Heika of the DALLAS MORNING NEWS. Hitchcock said of the back and forth with reporters, "We say upper body, then you go on the phone, and then you look up things or you go to the doctors, find out what part of the upper body. ... We try to make your work easier, quite frankly." Hitchcock said that by doing that, the Stars are "getting information to fans and helping sell the game in a nontraditional marketplace" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 11/22). Hitchcock said, "Players don't go out and say, 'He has a broken left pinkie and we're going to go after that pinkie.' Nobody thinks like that." The AP's John Wawrow notes this is the "exception to the approach by most teams." The Sabres referred to RW Alexander Nylander "as being day-to-day after sustaining a lower-body injury on Sept. 9." Nylander ended up missing close to two months (AP, 11/22).
