Dallas Stars: What To Watch For In Preseason Game Against Wild

The Dallas Stars are back in action on Thursday night as they travel to Minnesota to take on the Wild. Here’s what you might want to keep an eye on in their second preseason tilt of the year.

It’s been two days since the Dallas Stars opened up 2018 preseason play with a 5-3 win over the St. Louis Blues at the American Airlines Center. But there’s no time to rest on that accomplishment.

As part of a loaded seven-game preseason, the Stars have to deal with a quick turnaround. That quick turnaround comes on Thursday night as Dallas travels to Minnesota to take on the Wild in their second preseason tilt of the year.

The game isn’t being broadcasted, so you won’t necessarily need to clear your calendar at 7 p.m. to watch it. The game in itself is still an important one for the Stars, though.

It’s the second game of the preseason and offers another look at a Central division opponent for Dallas. In addition, it’s another chance for the Stars to do what they’re supposed to do in the preseason: try out different players and line combinations in an attempt to find the perfect mixture for opening night and the 2018-19 season.

More from Blackout Dallas

• Dallas Stars Traverse City Tournament: Who had great performances?
• Grushnikov and Stankoven lead Dallas Stars to 6-3 win over Columbus
• Dallas Stars prospects look to wrap up tournament with a win
• Burn the tapes: Dallas Stars prospects lose 5-1 to Toronto Maple Leafs
• Dallas Stars look to continue success today against the Maple Leafs

The Dallas Stars opened their preseason in a bit of an odd way. While they mounted an impressive comeback against the Blues that included a four-goal third period, their play throughout the 60-minute frame was less than enticing.

There seemed to be a lack of energy for most of the game, certain players put forward sloppy efforts, and the team as a whole wasn’t really clicking until the third period. As a result, some players had to step up and keep the team in the game.

But even so, Dallas still pulled out an important first win and got off on the right foot in the Jim Montgomery era. But there’s no time to rest on it.

The Stars are back in action on Thursday night against the Wild, and there is plenty to watch out for.

The Dallas lineup for the game against Minnesota looks significantly different than it did on Tuesday night. But that’s only expected with the preseason. It’s a chance for the 51 players still on the roster to get playing time and prove themselves to the coaching staff and management.

Tonight, the Stars lineup is expected to look something like this:

As you probably noticed, this is a much less experienced lineup than the one that played on Tuesday. While players like Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, Alexander Radulov, and John Klingberg started against St. Louis, Thursday night’s lineup will look relatively younger.

Here are some key storylines to watch out for.

Keep an eye on the crease

While Ben Bishop and Landon Bow shared the crease in game one, Anton Khudobin and Colton Point are expected to share playing time against the Wild. That’s significant for a few reasons.

Live Feed

SenShot

First off, Khudobin will likely be the starter. It will be his first competitive action in a Dallas Stars uniform after signing with the team on July 1. He will serve as the backup this year and the Stars are hoping that his presence will solve their decade-long backup problem in the crease. How he fares against a division rival tonight will be important when crafting first impressions.

On top of that, Colton Point will look to have a solid first outing in his NHL preseason debut. After being signed to an entry-level deal on July 1, the 2016 draft pick is one of the three goalies currently fighting for the starting job with the Texas Stars of the AHL. Point’s performance tonight could go a long way in determining his spot on the depth chart going into the 2018-19 season.

Though for different reasons, both goalies will need to be sharp in tonight’s contest, especially after solid performances from Bishop and Bow on Tuesday.

The offensive roster spot battles

During the 2017 preseason, the Dallas Stars had one significant decision to make. That decision revolved around which of their nine NHL-ready defenders would make the opening night roster and what would happen to the others.

In this preseason, the Stars have to make a similar decision. But this time, it revolves around the offense.

Live Feed

Bolts by the Bay

While there are 9-10 obvious starters for Dallas on offense, the final two or three spots are up for grabs. The Stars have four or five players vying for those spots, and it looks as though all of them are in the lineup tonight.

Roope Hintz, Gemel Smith, Jason Dickinson, and Remi Elie will all play in tonight’s preseason contest, giving Montgomery plenty to observe and take notes on in regards to his offensive structure. Hintz will get a shot at second line minutes after scoring a goal on Tuesday night while Elie, Dickinson, and Smith will make up the third line.

How each one performs tonight could make some decisions easier or all the more difficult, depending on how they play.

The top line

After an impressive second NHL debut on Tuesday following a two-year stint in the KHL, Valeri Nichushkin will skate on the top line tonight alongside Radek Faksa and Blake Comeau.

It will be Comeau’s first game in a Dallas Stars uniform and Faksa’s first opportunity to skate as a first line center.

More from Analysis

• Dallas Stars Traverse City Tournament: Who had great performances?
• Taking a look at the teams the Dallas Stars will be playing in the preseason
• Should the Dallas Stars revisit signing Patrick Kane this season?
• Realistic regular season stats for Dallas Stars Roope Hintz
• Realistic regular season stats for Dallas Stars Joe Pavelski

Make sure to keep an eye on all three tonight and see what kind of chemistry the trio can build together. There’s a chance that a combination of the three could be skating together on opening night, so this will be a great chance to work on communication.

The Stars will be squaring off with regular Wild starter Devan Dubnyk for part of the game, so a strong offensive performance will be necessary to break through. That begins with the first line.

Can they take the next step?

The Dallas Stars didn’t play their best or cleanest game on Tuesday night, but still got the win. Tonight is another opportunity against a Central division rival that will be starting their own handful of NHL starters.

It’s a chance for the Stars to continue adapting to Montgomery’s system, bringing energy to their play, and doing the little things right. In other words, it’s an opportunity to take another step forward.

We’ll see if they can capitalize.