With the preseason officially in the past, the month of October is here and the Dallas Stars have a lot of hockey on tap. Here is all that you have to look forward to in the coming month.
Welcome to the month of October, Dallas Stars fans.
For some, October 1 is a signal for the beginning of the fall season. For others, it’s the beginning of the most festive part of the year with Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas on the way over the next 11 weeks.
But for hockey fans, this is practically Christmas morning itself. That’s because in just two days, the NHL will kick off a new year. The 2018-19 season is just around the corner, bringing almost nine months of fun-filled action and excitement with it. Hockey is finally back and it’s time to get things going.
With that arrival comes potential nerves and confidence, but also expectations. Every team has their own set, ranging from “don’t get last in the division” to “compete for the Stanley Cup.” Where each team falls on that spectrum is completely up to them starting this week.
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At the moment, it seems as though the Dallas Stars are caught somewhere in the middle. With a new head coach in Jim Montgomery, new schemes implemented, and new players in the lineup, the Stars should look significantly different than they did last season. That can be a good or bad thing.
While Dallas looked like a quality hockey team and playoff contender for the first few months of the season, it all fell apart in the final five weeks. They missed the postseason by three points, Ken Hitchcock retired, and management went back to the drawing board in search of a successful plan.
And with the offseason, training camp, and the preseason all wrapped up, it looks as though they might have found it. The Dallas lineup looks revamped, Montgomery seems to be preaching a system that will complement the team and work against the NHL, and there is a sense of confidence in the locker room.
But none of that can be proven until the season actually begins in three days. With the beginning of a new month comes a new era of Dallas Stars hockey. It also comes with a chance for the Stars to prove themselves.
That first chance is scheduled for Oct. 4 when the Stars open their season at home against the Arizona Coyotes. It’s a game against a struggling team that made their own offseason changes and, as a result, cannot be taken lightly. And following that game, there will be no time to stop. Dallas has 11 games scheduled in the month of October, giving them a significant chance to either get ahead or pin themselves behind.
Here is a list of the Stars’ opponents in the month ahead:
Arizona Coyotes (1 game: home), Winnipeg Jets (1 game: home), Toronto Maple Leafs (1 game: home), Anaheim Ducks (2 games: both at home), Ottawa Senators (1 game: away), New Jersey Devils (1 game: away), Minnesota Wild (1 game: home), Los Angeles Kings (1 game: home), Detroit Red Wings (1 game: away), Montreal Canadiens (1 game: away)
Let’s break that down.
Blackhawk Up
The Dallas Stars have a total of seven home games and four away games on the schedule. They open the season with a four-game homestand and follow it up with a trip to New Jersey and Ottawa. Following that, they will return to Dallas for three more home games before closing out the month up north.
That’s the first big standout factor in the October schedule. With seven of the first nine games at home, it’s the perfect opportunity for the Stars to get off on the right foot and do some home cooking. Their fan base is eager to see just what the team can do this season, and October is the perfect time to show that off while also building some early momentum.
Last season, Dallas dominated at the American Airlines Center, posting a record of 26-12-3 on the year. If they can pick up where they left off last season and keep their fans in it early on, they will be better set up for long term success throughout the season.
In addition, the Stars will only see two Central division opponents in the month of October. Both the Jets and Wild will pay a visit to the American Airlines Center in the first 15 days of the regular season. That not only gives the Stars a chance to go toe-to-toe against two of the best teams in the division, but also an opportunity to get off on the right foot in divisional play. In each of the past two seasons, the Central division has played a large role in the Stars’ shortcomings and ultimate undoing.
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Dallas will only face one back-to-back scenario in the month ahead, coming on Oct. 15 and 16 against Ottawa and New Jersey. It’s a trip up north that should give the Stars a manageable test in playing on short rest. And that leads into another important point.
Causeway Crowd
When looking at the Stars’ opponents in the first month, a lack of long-term success sticks out. Of the ten teams they will go up against, only six of them qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season. And of those six, two were swept in the first round. Only the Winnipeg Jets made it out of the first round.
And when looking at each opponent, there really isn’t a standout one that has been a consistent NHL threat over the past few seasons. LA has been up and down recently. Anaheim can never seem to get past the first or second round of playoffs. The Wild always make the playoffs but never really go anywhere. Toronto is just now coming back around as a contender. And Winnipeg finished second in the Central last season after four years of finishing fifth or lower.
Teams like Washington, San Jose, Nashville, and Pittsburgh won’t be seen in the Stars’ first month, and that’s a good thing. With a new head coach and new position players throughout the lineup, there will be a need for time to adapt and assimilate while they prepare to dig their heels in for a Central division showdown. That time seems to be laid out nicely in October.
Dallas has struggled with their October slate in recent years, going 7-5-0 in 2017-18 and 3-4-1 in 2016-17. Part of that can be chopped up to coaching changes and injuries, but another part has to do with the team’s inconsistency and inability to get out of the gate. Those misfortunes must change this season.
All in all, the month of October provides a unique test for the Dallas Stars as they usher in a new season. There’s changes to be executed and a nervous but excited buzz following the team as of right now. The month of October will be the first glimpse at seeing where the team is at and where they could potentially be going. After all, fast starts are the best starts.
You will see a lot from the Stars in October. New players like Miro Heiskanen and Anton Khudobin finding their grooves, Valeri Nichushkin making the transition back to NHL life, and a new team trying to earn their stripes in a jam-packed division and conference. But that’s what the first month of the season is all about: new beginnings.
Welcome to October, Dallas Stars fans. Hockey season is back.