After a slow start resulting in a 4-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night, the Dallas Stars return home to the American Airlines Center. They will be taking on one of the best all-stars in the game tonight. They will be taking on Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight. It’s not going to be a walk in the park. Even though their record is 4-2, you cannot underestimate this team. Let’s look at the three keys of the game tonight against the Maple Leafs.
Dallas Stars vs. Toronto Maple Leafs Preview: 3. Get off to a quick start
I cannot stress this enough tonight as the Maple Leafs can get hot very early in the game. The Stars have to strike first out of the gate to take control of the game. They will not wait to give the Stars a 15-minute head start. I would advise the Stars to crash the net early and often tomorrow night. If you can take the Maple Leafs out of the game early with goals, the Stars should come away with another win.
Dallas Stars vs. Toronto Maple Leafs Preview: 2. Shut down Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner
If the Stars want to come out victorious tonight against the Maple Leafs, they have to stop Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. They will be tough to defend since they are on the same line and you can’t double-team them. If you double-team both of them, you leave their other linemates open to score on Jake Oettinger. The best course of action against both of them is to shut down their shooting lanes and hope for the best that they don’t score on Jake Oettinger tonight.
Dallas Stars vs. Toronto Maple Leafs Preview: 1. Get Pavelski and Sons back to their dominating ways
I know teams across the league have gotten used to shutting them down but Pavelski and Sons have to get back to their dominating ways. They have made their presence known early on in the season but they need to get back to how they were dominating last season. They are the heartbeat of the Stars’ offense and when they don’t score in a game, it’s going to be a long game. If they can get back to their dominating ways tonight, it will be a long game for the Maple Leafs.