Dallas Stars to Strike Oil Against Edmonton

After shutting out the Penguins in an adrenaline-laced home opener, the Dallas Stars just couldn’t maintain their powerhouse performance, falling to the Avalanche on the road 6-3 on Saturday. Where they had excelled on Thursday, they fell exceedingly short on Saturday, showing signs that there is still some work to do within the Stars’ ranks.

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The Stars have a chance to redeem themselves in their first season contest against the Edmonton Oilers. Considering the high expectations for Oilers rookie Connor McDavid and the Oilers’ failure to record a win so far, tonight’s game promises to be an interesting one.

You can listen to tonight’s game on Fox Sports Southwest (FSSW), and it will also be broadcasted on 1310AM/96.7FM The Ticket. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at American Airlines Center.

Records And Scores

The Dallas Stars are currently sitting at a balanced but somewhat disappointing 1-1-0 record with two points from Thursday’s penguin poaching expedition. Losing to their first Central Division opponents is a blemish on the record that the Stars will be looking to blot out by getting back on track against Edmonton tonight.

The Oilers fell to both the Blues and the Predators by multiple goal berths in their first two season contests, giving them a 0-2-0 record. Both power plays and penalty kills have been a weak point for the Oilers as they prepare to take on the Stars.

Storylines

A Tale of Two Rookies

While there’s been consistent and long-running expectation for greatness for the Oilers’ prodigy-rookie Connor McDavid, he has yet to notch his first NHL point in the two games he has played. Whether this is due to the incredible pressure of a new NHL career or the weight of carrying the Oilers’ hopes for the season on his shoulders, McDavid will either rise above the struggles or remain in mediocrity. Only time will tell.

However, the Dallas Stars can claim a rookie forward who is well on the way to proving himself in the league. Mattias Janmark opened the scoring with his very first shot in both of the Stars’ season games. Hopefully, this caliber of production will remain consistent, and Janmark will come out ahead in the rookie race.

Who to Watch Out For

Unless Connor McDavid comes out of hockey hibernation, the Oilers’ loss of Eberle to IR means that their go-to man will most likely be Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who has their only goal on the season so far. Anders Nilsson will most likely be getting the nod to start in goal for the Oilers.

Last season, the Star that shined most brightly against the Oilers was Tyler Seguin, who scored twice in each of Dallas’ regulation wins against Edmonton last season. Expect the offense, in some newly configured lines, to come out strong and take control of the game early on. Also, look to Kari Lehtonen to start in the crease.

Injury report

Aside from Brett Ritchie, who is recovering from wrist surgery, the Stars will all be healthy and ready for tonight’s contest.

The Edmonton Oilers will be missing from their line-up, most notably, Jordan Eberle, who was placed on IR as the result of a recent shoulder injury.

Projected lines

Dallas Stars

Jamie Benn – Tyler Seguin – Patrick Eaves

Antoine Roussel – Jason Spezza – Patrick Sharp

Mattias Janmark – Cody Eakin – Ales Hemsky

Travis Moen – Vernon Fiddler – Colton Sceviour

Alex Goligoski – John Klingberg

Johnny Oduya – Jason Demers

Jyrki Jokipakka – Jordie Benn

Kari Lehtonen

Antti Niemi

Edmonton Oilers

Taylor Hall – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Teddy Purcell

Benoit Pouliot – Connor McDavid – Nail Yakupov

Anton Slepyshev – Anton Lander – Lauri Korpikoski

Matt Hendricks – Mark Letestu – Luke Gazdic

Oscar Klefbom – Justin Schultz

Andrej Sekera – Mark Fayne

Brandon Davidson – Erik Gryba

Cam Talbot

Anders Nilsson

Prediction

The loss to Colorado was just a fluke – an extra special instance of extreme home-team advantage. With the Oilers already seemingly floundering, Dallas will come back and resume the style of play that downed the Penguins, and shut out the Oilers in a similar fashion, 3-0.

Next: Dallas Stars Preseason Appraisal

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Dallas Stars Looking To Strike Oil Against Edmonton

By Micaela Hamid | Oct 13, 2015