Dallas Stars’ First Month Of Season Will Provide Interesting Test
By Josh Clark
The first month of the hockey season proposes a unique challenge for all 31 teams in the NHL to get ahead. For the Dallas Stars, this coming October gives them a great opportunity.
28 days, four weeks, .933 months. However you put it, Dallas Stars hockey is right around the corner. And yes, that’s exciting.
With the season just around the corner, it’s becoming time to focus on how the Stars will fare with their schedule.
One of the biggest goals of every NHL team is to have a strong start. Without a strong beginning to the season, most teams fizzle out and end up missing the postseason.
The Stars had a sloppy and unsuccessful start to the 2014-15 season and it came back to haunt them. In 2015-16, they were on top of the NHL by December, and that turned into something beautiful. And last season, they had an average start but simply could not keep up with the rest of the league as the season went on.
Dallas Stars
Last season’s subpar start helped contribute to the overall disappointing result of an early summer and no postseason action.
That’s what makes the beginning of the 2017-18 season even more important. The Dallas Stars spent the entire offseason restocking and upgrading their roster, and the expectations bar is set rather high yet again. If Dallas gets out to another slow start, it will be a second straight season of missing the mark and falling well short of expectations.
But in October 2017, the Stars will have a great opportunity to get out to the fast start they need. That’s primarily because of the composition of their schedule.
When you take a look at the Stars’ October 2017 slate, it’s clear that it doesn’t necessarily put them in a hole. If anything, it gives them a prime chance to dig holes for the other teams in the division.
The Stars will play a total of 12 games in October, with five being at home and seven coming on the road. There are only two back-to-back sets, coming at the very beginning of the season (Oct. 6-7) and towards the end of the month (Oct. 26-27).
Four of the 12 games will be against fellow Central Division teams. That gives the Stars a great chance to catch fire early and take a quick lead in the division standings.
When you scan the opposition on the slate, it’s not the most threatening lineup.
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As just about everyone knows by now, the Stars will welcome the Vegas Golden Knights to town on Friday, Oct. 6 for opening night. Vegas is the newest team in the league and, as a result, have not had a chance to use their new lineup on a consistent basis and gel as a unit. They might surprise the league on opening night, but chances are that it will be a learning game for the team.
Immediately following opening night, the Stars will trek to St. Louis to take on the Blues on Saturday. It will be their first Central Division matchup of the season and gives the Stars a chance to jump ahead in the standings.
After that, Dallas flops back home to take on a Detroit Red Wings team that missed the playoffs for the first time in 25 years last season. The Wings are hurting and hoping for a quick turnaround just like the Stars.
The Stars’ biggest test of the month will likely come on Oct. 12 when they visit the Nashville Predators. Bridgestone Arena knows how to get loud, and considering it is a divisional matchup between two rivals, expect for there to be some fireworks. Don’t forget that these two teams are also the favorites to win the division. The stakes will be high in each matchup between Dallas and Nashville. That much you can count on.
The remaining opponents in the calendar include the Colorado Avalanche (twice), Arizona Coyotes (twice), Carolina Hurricanes, Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, and Vancouver Canucks. Besides the Oilers and Flames, none of these teams made the playoffs last year. In fact, all of the teams besides Edmonton and Calgary finished lower than Dallas in the standings in 2016-17.
That’s pretty shocking considering the Stars missed the playoffs by 15 points and finished with the second worst record in franchise history (34-37-11). In addition to that, none of the teams listed above did as much work as Dallas did this summer in revamping their roster.
From how it looks now, the Dallas Stars have an interesting month of October planned out for them. The last thing they need to do is take it lightly, but they seem to be in a good position right now.
The schedule will not only give the Stars a good chance to start the year strong, but also a chance to find team chemistry in-game before getting to the thick of competition throughout the winter. That’s a win-win.
Next: Do The Stars Have A Shot At The Stanley Cup This Year?
October 2017 looks like it will be a fun month for the Dallas Stars and their fans. It cannot get here quick enough.