Dallas Stars Going With Young Lineup vs. Colorado Avalanche
By Josh Clark
The preseason continues for the Dallas Stars tonight as they face off against the Colorado Avalanche. The Stars are putting forward an extremely young lineup, but it will pay dividends for the team.
It will be the vets vs. the younglings in tonight’s matchup at the Pepsi Center in Denver, CO.
The Dallas Stars (1-0-0) take on the Colorado Avalanche (0-1-0) tonight in their second preseason contest of the 2017 year.
The Stars started their preseason on Tuesday night with a convincing 5-3 victory over the St. Louis Blues at home. This will be their first test on the road. The Avs, on the other hand, started the preseason with a 4-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night.
Both teams will look to capitalize in a Central Division matchup tonight.
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But for the Stars, their lineup will be looking a tad different than it did on Tuesday. The preseason gives NHL teams the chance to jumble lines and put multiple players on the ice during the six-game span in order to craft the perfect roster.
On Tuesday, the Stars stuck with a primarily veteran lineup to begin the preseason. They brought out their presumed top line, five of the six presumed defensive starters, and the starting goaltender. All in all, 14 of the 19 starters against the Blues are projected to start for the Stars on Oct. 6.
Tonight’s lineup looks significantly different. Here is the projected lineup as reported by Stars Inside Edge this morning on Twitter.
Curtis McKenzie – Radek Faksa – R.J. Umberger
Justin Dowling – Jason Dickinson – Brian Flynn
Remi Elie – Devin Shore – Adam Cracknell
Antoine Roussel – Roope Hintz – Denis Gurianov
Dan Hamhuis – Stephen Johns
Patrik Nemeth – Greg Pateryn
Dillon Heatherington – Julius Honka
Kari Lehtonen
Landon Bow
Only nine of the 19 players in this lineup are considered as probable starters on opening night in Dallas. A good chunk of this lineup is expected to start the season in Cedar Park with the Texas Stars.
Dallas Stars
This young lineup will be going up against a veteran Colorado lineup including Matt Duchene, Nail Yakupov, Gabriel Landeskog, Sven Andrighetto, Gabriel Bourque, and Semyon Varlamov. It’s going to be a tough battle, but it will pay off for the Stars in a big way.
That’s because tonight’s game will give the Stars a chance to see some players “on the bubble” face off against real NHL-level competition. Many of the players on the Stars’ roster tonight are battling for a spot on the team.
R.J. Umberger is still on a tryout contract and has five games left to prove himself. Dowling, Dickinson, and Elie spent a decent amount of time with Dallas last year but still aren’t considered “full-time starters” yet. Flynn is a new addition from the summer and could be in either league (NHL or AHL) at the beginning of next season. Heatherington, Hintz, and Gurianov are all young prospects knocking on the NHL door.
In the back end, Nemeth and Pateryn are trying to claim the “seventh man” spot on defense. Bow is one of three goaltenders battling for the starting spot in Cedar Park, and tonight’s performance could be a big factor in determining his role.
The Dallas lineup is about as diverse as it gets for tonight’s game, but it will serve head coach Ken Hitchcock well. This is a great chance to see just how prepared these bubble players are to make their case and earn a starting spot.
Next: Stars' Preseason Showing Upward Trend
The game will only be available via an online radio broadcast on the Avalanche website. But keep a close eye on social media for in-game updates. There’s plenty to watch out for.