Dallas Stars News: Preparing For End Of 2018-19 Regular Season Play

The 2018-19 regular season is quickly approaching a close for the playoff-bound Dallas Stars. Some new lineup updates for the final two games of the year emerged on Thursday morning.

The Dallas Stars held practice in Frisco on Thursday morning before boarding a flight for Chicago. It was their first time on the ice since Tuesday night at the American Airlines Center when they clinched a spot in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Stars dominated the Philadelphia Flyers in a 6-2 routing in front of a sold-out home crowd and not only earned their way into the postseason, but also earned a day off on Wednesday to recharge.

But now, they’re back to action. Two games still separate the Stars from the beginning of postseason play, and the goal is to finish the year on the highest note possible. Dallas has an opportunity to enter the playoffs on a seven-game points streak, potentially help their goalie tandem of Ben Bishop and Anton Khudobin win the Jennings Trophy, and build up more momentum to use as they dive into playoff action.

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Zuccarello was pulled midway through Tuesday’s game against Philadelphia as a precaution after missing five weeks with a broken arm. He may not play Saturday against the Wild, but is expected to be ready for game one of the playoffs.

Bishop will miss the game in Chicago while continuing to recover from a lower-body injury, but might be ready for Saturday’s game. If not, he is expected to be ready for game one as well.

As a result, Anton Khudobin will start on Friday against the Blackhawks as the Stars try to secure the William M. Jennings Trophy for fewest goals against by an NHL team in a season. The Stars (196) and Islanders (195) are currently in the running with two games to go, so some ground will have to be made up by Dallas if they want to win the award. That’s where Khudobin will have to once again stand tall.

Justin Dowling, Brett Ritchie, and Andrew Cogliano are all healthy and available to play in Friday night’s game. All three will travel with the team.

To top it all off, Tyler Seguin, Esa Lindell, and Miro Heiskanen are expected to play in the final two games of the year and cap off a perfect 82-game season. The completion of this year would be Seguin’s third consecutive 82-game campaign, while Lindell and Heiskanen would wrap up the first full seasons of their career.

In playoff news, the Dallas Stars are still waiting to find out the identity of their first-round opponent. That announcement could come as early as Thursday night.

The Winnipeg Jets, Nashville Predators, and St. Louis Blues will all be in action tonight. If the Jets can win while the Predators lose in regulation and the Blues lose in any fashion, Winnipeg will clinch the Central division title and set themselves up for a first round date with the top wild card team. With that, all the Stars would need is one more point (or the Avalanche to lose one point) in order to clinch the first wild card spot.

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With the regular season quickly approaching a close, the Dallas Stars are trying to manage their roster well while also attempting to finish the season on a high note and possibly work their way into the record books.

Let’s see how the final few days of the campaign go.

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