Have you ever felt like someone was following you on the streets, and it felt like they were breathing down your neck? That's what it feels like for the Dallas Stars with the Minnesota Wild right behind them in the Central Division standings at the moment. Both teams are locked into trying to secure home ice advantage for their inevitable first-round series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. That's why tonight's game against the Calgary Flames is so crucial for the Dallas Stars to win.
All Dallas really has to do is win tonight and on Thursday against the Wild to secure home-ice advantage. That's all the fans are asking the Stars to do: win the next two games to secure home-ice advantage. It would be nice if the Kraken could work some of their magic tonight and pull off an upset against the Wild. It's going to be a photo finish for second place in the Central. Here are the four keys to tonight's game at the American Airlines Center.
Dallas Stars vs. Calgary Flames Preview: 4. Run it up
Dallas needs to do what they did in the last game against the Flames: run up the score. Dallas can easily win tonight's game by running up the score as they did in their previous game. I don't want to see the Flames walk into the American Airlines Center and think they have an easy win waiting for them. If they want to upset the Stars, they are going to have to earn that tonight. Just go out and run up the score so this game is over by the midway point of tonight's game.
Dallas Stars vs. Calgary Flames Preview: 3. Unleash the Moose
One player I would like to see dominate tonight's game is Mikko Rantanen. He's been an introverted moose since returning from his injury. Dallas isn't going to go far in the playoffs if he continues to be the introverted moose. Dallas needs to get him going on offense by allowing him a lot of shifts tonight. He needs to get into a groove on the offensive end of the ice if the Stars want to come away with two points tonight. A hyper extroverted moose would make the fans happy tonight.
Dallas Stars vs. Calgary Flames Preview: 2. Don't force things with Tyler Myers
Instead of focusing on a key player on the opposing team tonight, I want to talk about Tyler Myers coming back into the lineup. That's really great news for the Stars, considering their defensive issues in the last five games. While it's nice to have him back in the lineup, I don't want Dallas to overuse him tonight. We need him healthy for the playoffs, and the best thing to do is ease him into the lineup. Dallas can win tonight's game if they don't overuse Myers.
Dallas Stars vs. Calgary Flames Preview: 1. Get Jake another shutout
Jake Oettinger is probably going to get a lot of these remaining games on the schedule to get him warmed up for the playoffs. In Jake's last start, he shut down the Jets and earned a shutout. He's got very few of those at the moment due to the players in front of him. Getting Jake another shutout tonight would go a long way in making sure that he's prepared for the Wild in the playoffs. If Jake can get another shutout tonight, I'm starting to like the odds of advancing to the second round against Colorado once the postseason begins.