The NHL released the home openers for all 31 NHL teams on Friday afternoon. And, as has become tradition in recent years, the Dallas Stars will open the 2019-20 season on home ice as the Boston Bruins pay a visit to the American Airlines Center.
Since the beginning of the 2011-12 season, the Dallas Stars have been granted the luxury of beginning their regular season campaigns on home ice.
It all began on Oct. 7, 2011 when the Stars welcomed the Blackhawks to the American Airlines Center. During the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign, Dallas opened on home ice against the Arizona (though they were Phoenix back then) Coyotes.
2013 brought the Florida Panthers to the AAC to kickstart a new era of Dallas hockey, while 2014 once again pitted the Stars against the Blackhawks. 2015 saw the Pittsburgh Penguins come to town, 2016 pitted Dallas against the Anaheim Ducks on opening night, and 2017 brought the Vegas Golden Knights to the Lone Star State for their first game in franchise history.
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Last season, the Stars once again opened things up against the Coyotes and secured a 3-0 win to get Jim Montgomery his first career NHL victory as a head coach.
Altogether, the Stars have posted a 5-2-1 record in the past eight opening night games at American Airlines Center. It’s a chance for Stars fans to make their first glimpse of the team an up-close one and gives the team an opportunity to continue building up their reputation and fanbase with the opening night hype.
And in 2019, they will have yet another chance at doing just that.
On Friday afternoon, the NHL released the dates and opponents of each team’s home opener for the 2019-20 season. For the ninth straight season in a row, the Stars will open their regular season campaign on home ice when they welcome the Boston Bruins on Thursday, Oct. 3.
It’s yet another exciting opponent coming to Dallas that should provide an intriguing storyline. This past year, the Stars and Bruins posted identical 1-0-1 records against each other, with the Bruins winning 2-1 in overtime on Nov. 5 and Dallas claiming a 1-0 overtime win 11 days later.
On top of the Tyler Seguin blockbuster trade story that always arises as a talking point when the teams get together, both will also be trying to build on success from the 2018-19 season. The Stars advanced to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and fell one goal short of defeating the St. Louis Blues and advancing to the Western Conference Final. On the other side of the bracket, the Bruins made their way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final before falling one win short at the hands of the Blues.
Both have something to prove after impressive 2018-19 campaigns and should present an impressive buildup to Game 1.
In addition, the Stars will also serve as the visiting team for the Detroit Red Wings’ home opener on Sunday, Oct. 6. The remainder of the 2019-20 NHL regular season schedule will be released on Tuesday, June 25 at 11 a.m. CT.