Dallas Stars Can’t Afford to Underestimate Coyotes in Home Opener

GLENDALE, AZ - FEBRUARY 01: Tyler Seguin #91 of the Dallas Stars skates with the puck in front of Derek Stepan #21 of the Arizona Coyotes during the second period at Gila River Arena on February 1, 2018 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/NHLI via Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ - FEBRUARY 01: Tyler Seguin #91 of the Dallas Stars skates with the puck in front of Derek Stepan #21 of the Arizona Coyotes during the second period at Gila River Arena on February 1, 2018 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Dallas Stars need to start this season right and that means they need to come out hard from the start.

Last season, the Dallas Stars dropped their first game of the season, despite everyone heavily predicting the Stars to win.

It was the first game for the Golden Knights franchise, and expansion teams have traditionally been awful. It should’ve been an easy opening night win for the Stars.

The Golden Knights were different, though. They were the first expansion team in the salary cap era, meaning they ended up with players who were still good right now, but who were on contracts that could quickly become awful.

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There’s nothing to deflate a fanbase and a team like losing the season opener to a brand new expansion team.

The loss eventually stung less when the Golden Knights made the playoffs, then kept winning all the way until the Finals, but it still set the tone to start the season and the Stars lost again the following night, and then a third time in their first four games.

There’s often this sentiment early in the season that because it’s early, points don’t matter as much and fans shouldn’t worry. The problem with that line of thinking is that every point matters exactly the same at the end of the season. The Stars ended up missing a wild card spot by 3 points, and they missed out on 6 possible points in the first four games.

A win against the Golden Knights would’ve given them 2 points, and perhaps it would’ve fueled them into a win on the second night of the opening back-to-back. That small difference right there would’ve put them in the playoffs.

It certainly wasn’t the only mistake that the Stars made over the season, and the biggest, most glaring spot where they lost themselves a playoff spot was when they went eight games without a win in March. However, everything adds up at the end of the year, and the Stars can’t take any opportunity for points for granted.

The Golden Knights were heavily considered underdogs going into last season, but the Coyotes aren’t considered favorites by a long shot this year. They’ve got quite a few injuries already and the year hasn’t even started, including their star offseason acquisition, Alex Galchenyuk, who is out indefinitely with a groin injury.

The Coyotes haven’t made the playoffs since 2011-12, and they’ve finished sixth or lower in the Pacific in three out of the last four years. They started last season by losing 11 consecutive games. It would be understandable for fans and players to underestimate them, but they shouldn’t.

Despite being the worst team in the Western Conference, they still won 29 games, including going 1-0-1 against the eventual Stanley Cup champions. Even the worst teams win some games, and the Coyotes probably won’t be the worst team this year.

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The Coyotes have a lot of promise and a lot of good players, but they just haven’t managed to make things work yet. This year could be a turning point for them, but the Stars can’t let themselves be part of that if it happens. They need to come out strong and send a message to the Coyotes and the NHL as a whole that they’re a better team this year.