Dallas Stars News: A new threat joins the Central Division

Rise and shine, Stars' fans, it's a glorious Saturday morning, and the Stars are preparing to take on the Florida Panthers later tonight. The last game they played against the Panthers went all the way to a shootout, but the Stars ultimately lost. You can't go undefeated in the NHL, and sometimes you lose to the team that wants to go for the dynasty this season. It will be a thrilling game at the American Airlines Center later today. Here are some news tidbits ahead of tonight's game, including a new threat in the Central Division.

Dallas Stars News: A new threat emerges in the Central Division

Luckily, this trade happened the day after the Stars got embarrassed by the Minnesota Wild. I'm sure Jake Oettinger is "thrilled" he's joining the division. The Minnesota Wild traded for Quinn Hughes last night, and now the Central Division has three of the top defenseman in the league. If you thought that Cale Makar was a difficult matchup, try going up against Quinn Hughes. That's something that won't be fun to go up against in the next game against the Wild.

With the trade, the Minnesota Wild just joined the two-team race at the top of the Central Division. I guess the Wild were motivated to make the trade after beating the Stars the other night. They are an impressive team and deserved to win on Thursday night. It's going to be a tough race in the Central Division. Every point from here on out is going to matter. That means just trying to force overtime and win if the Stars are tired. May the best team win the Central this season.

Dallas Stars News: Throw the bears

Last night, the Texas Stars hosted the San Jose Barracuda at the HEB Center for their teddy bear toss game at Christmas time. For those who want to know some Dallas Stars Jeporady, Curtis McKenzie sent the bears flying onto the ice as the Texas Stars collected 3.988 bears. They will be going to kids in the Cedar Park community. It's so heart-warming to see all the bears that get collected at these kinds of hockey games. Why can't the Dallas Stars have one for the Dallas community?

Dallas Stars News: Prayer Vigil

I'm sure there will be a prayer vigil around the American Airlines Center this morning as fans await the news of Roope Hintz. He was hit in the ankle by a shot from Miro Heiskanen. It wasn't the one that he had surgery on after the Western Conference Finals. That would be a devastating blow for the Stars as they just got back Matt Duchene, Thomas Harley, and Nils Lundkvist. Hopefully, Hintz is out for a short time if he is injured.

Dallas Stars News: Time to prove the Stars are for real

To wrap up our morning newsletter, the Stars need to beat the Florida Panthers later tonight. The reason is that it would prove to the league that the Stars have a shot at dethroning the defending Stanley Cup Champions and ending their dynasty this year. That would be the cherry on top of the season if the Stars were to win the Cup and end the dynasty hopes of the Panthers. Tonight feels like a Super Bowl for the Stars. Get to the arena early and get these guys hyped up for tonight's game.