Stars and Wild both get key defensemen back for Game 1 of their first-round playoff series

DALLAS (AP) — Key defensemen Miro Heiskanen and Quinn Hughes were active for Game 1 of the Western Conference playoff series between the Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild on Saturday after both had missed the end of the regular season for different reasons.

Heiskanen didn't play the last three regular-season games for the Stars because of a lower-body injury in a 5-4 win over Minnesota on April 9.

Hughes, acquired by the Wild from Vancouver in December, missed their last two games dealing with an illness since playing a week ago at Nashville. He didn't travel with the team to Dallas on Thursday, and instead flew on his own Friday.

Heiskanen missed 42 games over 3 1/2 months last season, and he didn't get into those playoffs until Game 4 of the Stars' second-round series against Winnipeg.

Dallas coach Glen Gulutzan said before Saturday's game that some extra days of rest helped Heiskanen, who skated on his own Thursday before practicing Friday. The coach said the defenseman with 63 points (nine goals, 54 assists) would be a full-go for however many minutes.

“It's the time of year he can go,” Gulutzan said.

Hughes, who has 76 points (seven goals, 69 assists) in 74 games overall, also plays a big role for Minnesota.

“I just expect him to come in and do what he does,” Wild coach John Hynes said.

AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Minnesota Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes (43) celebrates with the team after scoring against the Dallas Stars in the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

NEW YORK (AP) — Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro wanted to find out if Will Warren was committing a balk in the first inning when he was ejected by second base umpire Nestor Ceja in Saturday’s 13-4 loss to the New York Yankees.

“I actually wasn’t arguing,” Quatraro said. “I was just trying to get some clarification. We’ve been told that if the pitcher’s on the rubber, he’s about to start and then he goes to touch the PitchCom, it should be a balk because it’s essentially doing starting and stopping twice.

“That’s what I was trying to get some clarification on. So, I was not out there to get ejected, but that’s the way it ended up."

After Maikel Garcia was stranded at second base and nearly picked off, Quatraro raced out to start arguing with Ceja and Chris Guccione as the Royals took the field.

“They said it wasn’t a balk,” Quatraro said. “Their interpretation of it was that it was not a balk.”

The argument did not appear heated initially, but when Quatraro turned away he was tossed. Bench coach Paul Hoover took over as manager for Kansas City.

“It's just a difference in how different crews interpret it and how they call it,” Quatraro said.

It was Quatraro’s eighth career ejection since becoming Kansas City’s manager in 2023.

After Quatraro was tossed, the Royals lost their sixth straight and for the ninth time in 11 games.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Kansas City Royals manager Matt Quatraro (33) argues with second base umpire Nestor Ceja during the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Saturday, April 18, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)