Dallas Stars @ Florida Panthers Preseason Game PREVIEW
By Josh Clark
The Dallas Stars will face off against the Florida Panthers tonight, looking to extend their preseason record to 2-0. This is the Panthers first game of the 2014-2015 preseason.
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Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin are among a few, specifically 12, players that will see their first action of the 2014-2015 preseason. Lindy Ruff has changed about half the number of starters, simply because he wants to give everyone who has performed well a chance to show off their skills.
Jason Spezza will be getting the night off after a successful Stars debut in Monday’s game where he had an assist. Ales Hemsky, his projected linemate for the upcoming season, will suit up and play in Florida tonight.
Jussi Rynnas and Jack Campbell turn out to be the two goaltenders that made the trek to Sunrise. They will most likely split time tonight, as Kari Lehtonen and Anders Lindback did on Monday night in a 4-3 win over the Blues. Besides Lehtonen, the other three remain fighting for a spot on the Dallas Stars roster, and Anders Lindback made a valiant stride towards securing the position Monday night after turning in a 19-for-21 save performance. Rynnas and Campbell have substantially less NHL experience than Lindback, and a stellar preseason seems to be the only hope left for either of them.
Speaking of backup goalies, former Stars backup Dan Ellis will most likely be starting in net for the Panthers tonight, being his first game against his former team.
Notable injuries:
Stars forward Valeri Nichushkin and defenseman Trevor Daley will be sitting out this game, but are both expected to be ready for Friday’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Dallas Stars head coach Lindy Ruff simply wanted to give them more time to recuperate and a few more practices before they start physical play. Nichushkin has been agitated by a groin injury over the last week or so, and Daley has been bothered by a sore hip.
Brett Ritchie shed the red no-contact jersey for today’s practice and looks closer to a return. Coach Ruff said he will most likely play a preseason game, possibly even as early as Friday.
Colton Sceviour and John Klingberg both had surgery this past offseason and are quickly approaching 100 percent. Ruff is being careful with both of them, and holding them back until he feels it is the right time to put them back in. Sceviour did not play in the training camp scrimmage on Sunday and Klingberg felt sore after it, simply due to the sudden amount of work he was put through. No exact timetable set yet, but they are close.
Sergei Gonchar was hit in the ear by a puck in the scrimmage Sunday and received a laceration, but seems back to normal and was on the ice for Wednesday’s practice.
The game will take place at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, FL at 6:30 p.m. CT. The Stars website was questionable on whether they were going to be able to live stream the game, and it looks as though they will not be able to. You can find the game on 560 WQAM (Miami).
Here are the projected lineups for both teams in tonight’s tilt:
Stars projected lineup
Jamie Benn – Tyler Seguin – Ryan Garbutt
Curtis McKenzie – Travis Morin – Patrick Eaves
Gemel Smith – Justin Dowling – Ales Hemsky
Erik Cole – Radek Faksa – Matej Stransky
Alex Goligoski – Kevin Connauton
Jyrki Jokipakka – Jamie Oleksiak
Cameron Gaunce – Maxime Fortunus
Jussi Rynnas
Jack Campbell
Panthers projected lineup
Jonathan Huberdeau – Nick Bjugstad – Scottie Upshall
Sean Bergenheim – Dave Bolland – Jimmy Hayes
Brandon Pirri – Vincent Trocheck – Jayce Hawryluk
Quinton Howden – Brett Olson – Rocco Grimaldi
Shane O’Brien – Alexander Petrovic
Dylan Olsen – Dmitry Kulikov
Colby Robak – MacKenzie Weegar
Dan Ellis
Michael Houser
Comments and questions below, and as always, thanks for reading! Go Stars.
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