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Dallas Stars Six Defensive Starters On Opening Night Poll

By Josh Clark

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Monday. Once again we have reached the most atrocious day of the week as we look to begin a new seven-day campaign.

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But for once this Monday seems to have a silver lining, one that looks to be bearing gifts. These gifts have hints of hockey in them. That’s right, the Dallas Stars open up their regular season on Thursday night in Dallas against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

But Stars fans will be approaching this game day with caution instead of celebration.

The Dallas Stars had another terrific offseason filled with superstar-caliber trades and pickups. This followed a season of utter disappointment from the 2014-2015 Dallas Stars. The Stars had some lofty expectations set for them at the beginning of the 1’4-‘15 season that they fell way short of.

After an entertaining 2013-2014 campaign that included a playoff berth, the Stars general manager Jim Nill put the pedal to the metal once again in the offseason. He acquired center Jason Spezza in a trade with the Ottawa Senators, along with signing free agent Ales Hemsky.

With these acquisitions, most expected the already powerful Stars to make a claim for the top spot in the NHL. Instead, it was a sour and painful drop to the bottom half of the standings.

It was quickly noticeable that the two biggest issues for the Stars were their goaltending and defensive play. So, Nill attempted to fill the voids this past offseason by bringing D Johnny Oduya and G Antti Niemi aboard.

Both players are veterans in their positions and have plenty of experience and talent to share with the rest of the group. In addition to these two, Nill also traded for F Patrick Sharp who will hopefully help push the Stars offense to the top of the NHL.

But all of last season’s disasters are in the past now and it is a new year. The Dallas Stars have a chance to make some noise and get off on the right foot in order to have a successful 2015-2016 season. While there still is hope, there is reason for Stars fans to approach this new year with hesitation.

The Dallas Stars ended their preseason journey on Saturday night in Chicago with a 4-0 loss. This dropped the Stars to a record of 1-6-0 in preseason play.

Even though most wrote this off as “only the preseason and not the real thing,” there were plenty of questions left unanswered that need to be answered before October 8th. Instead, it looks like the Stars will need to right the ship before Thursday in practice.

One of the main questions that has haunted the Stars since July is who their six starters on defense will be come opening night. But now the preseason is over, and it is still unsure which six of the eight candidates will earn themselves a spot on the blue line Thursday night.

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Out of these eight, there are four that we know of who are definite starters for opening night. These four are Alex Goligoski, John Klingberg, Johnny Oduya, and Jason Demers. But the other four will scrap over the final two spots.

Each of the eight candidates received significant amounts of playing time in the preseason. Here is the final stat line of each player:

Alex Goligoski: 3 GP, 0 G, 1 A, -1 +/-

John Klingberg: 5 GP, 0 G, 2 A, -4 +/-

Johnny Oduya: 2 GP, 0 G, 0 A, -2 +/-

Jason Demers: 5 GP, 1 G, 1 A, 0 +/-

Jordie Benn: 5 GP, 0 G, 0 A, -3 +/-

Jyrki Jokipakka: 4 GP, 0 G, 1 A, -3+/-

Patrik Nemeth: 4 GP, 0 G, 0 A, -4+/-

Jamie Oleksiak: 5 GP, 0 G, 0 A, -5 +/-

So two spots are open and four players want in. We probably will not know who is in the starting lineup until it is reported on Thursday morning from the Dallas Stars morning skate. So until then, all we can do is speculate.

Below is a poll for you to use to let your voice be heard. From what you have seen so far this preseason, which two Dallas Stars defenders do you think should be on the blue line in the third pairing on opening night? Cast your vote below!

Apologies to anyone using our mobile app that does not support polls yet. But we encourage you to find us on Twitter, Facebook, or online and vote!

Just three days separate the Dallas Stars from one of their biggest seasons yet. Are they ready for it? Because their fans sure are.

Next: Will John Klingberg Hit The Sophomore Slump?

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