Dallas Stars Show Promise in 4-0 Loss to Blues in Preseason Opener

Even though the Dallas Stars lost tonight to the St. Louis Blues 4-0 in the preseason opener, the young roster showed that they can compete. We saw promising games from Logan Stankoven, Wyatt Johnston, Artem Grushnikov and more. We even got a first look at Anton Khudobin after he had hip surgery last season.  There is a lot to break down about this preseason game so lets go over some of the key takeaways from tonights game against the St. Louis Blues.

Dallas Stars vs St. Louis Blues Recap: 1. Anton Khudobin looks healthy

As he is entering the final year of his 3 year extension, Khudobin might be on the move before the season starts. Teams that are looking for a solid backup goaltender probably kept an eye on how Khudobin did tonight. Khudobin showed lots of promise in the one period that he played.

While Khudobin showed reasons why he was benched in favor of Oettinger, he showed other teams that he can move easily without any pain. I don’t see Khudobin making the final roster as Wedgewood is cheaper and he is a decent backup. As Khudobin gets more playing time during the preseason, some team is bite going to call Jim Nill about his trade price

Dallas Stars vs St. Louis Blues Recap: 2. Stankoven and Johnston putting pressure on the front office

This was probably the highlight of the night for the Dallas Stars. Top prospects Logan Stankoven and Wyatt Johnston really played well with Jamie Benn. Stankoven and Johnston had some really good scoring opportunities tonight and it’s what the Stars desperately need. Jason Robertson isn’t close to an extension and it looks like he could miss some regular season games. Both could force the Stars hand to add both of them to the opening night roster if they continue to play well with Benn.

Dallas Stars vs St. Louis Blues Recap: 3. Marian Studenic might have locked in his roster spot tonight

The one thing that I think fans that attended the game noticed the most was that Marian Studenic gave it 110% every time he hit the ice. Studenic was flying all over the ice and was helping in anyway he could during his shift. DeBoer will definitely take that into consideration when it comes time to narrow the roster down. Personally I think he locked down his roster spot tonight. He showed tonight he’s willing to help the team in anyway he can whether thats defense or offense.

If you want to see some of the practices this week, check Blackout Dallas for the Stars practice schedule. All of their practices are free to attend and open to the public.