The Dallas Stars celebrate Sergei Zubov as they take on the Capitals

Tonight is a very historic moment for all Dallas Stars fans that got to witness this player play. The Dallas Stars will be retiring Sergei Zubov’s number before they take on the Capitals. This will be the final time that the Stars take on the Caps this season. Here is how the Stars can get a win to honor one of the greatest defensemen in Stars history.

At the end of this article, there will be some quotes from former Stars players on Sergei Zubov taken from the official Stars Twitter page. I’m currently writing an article on him that was supposed to be ready for tomorrow, but Microsoft Word had other plans. I’ll publish the article on Zubov as soon as I’m able to.

Dallas Stars vs Washington Capitals: 3. Get Ovechkin out of his comfort zone

Alexander Ovechkin is one best Russian players in the NHL right now. He has a zone where he is his deadliest and that is in either of the red circles in their offensive zone. The Stars need to force him out to the blue line since he doesn’t take a lot of shots from there. If the Stars allow him to stay inside either red circle on their side of the ice, this could be a very long game Friday night.

Dallas Stars vs Washington Capitals: 2. Attack early and attack often

I’ve said all year in these pre-game articles it’s best to attack early and often at the beginning of games. If you look at how the Stars were able to do that against the New Jersey Devils, they took the Devils early right out of the game. What better way to honor Zubov than by building an early lead and winning the game.

Dallas Stars vs Washington Capitals: 1. Push the start time of the ceremony back

I know this isn’t a key to the game, but push the start time of the ceremony back some so people attending the game don’t have to rush on over from work. The game doesn’t start until 8 pm and I really doubt that the ceremony is going to be that long. I totally understand if it takes some time for them to get everything off the ice before warmups.

Quotes from former Stars Players on Sergei Zubov

“I had the greatest seat sitting back there in my crease watching him”-Marty Turco 

“He’s one of the best power play players I’ve ever coached against in the league”.- Rick Bowness

“I think he’s very, very proud of it, and I think the organization is very proud of it, too, to have him as a Forever Dallas Star.” –John Klingberg