I'm sure you all know what it feels like to land at DFW Airport after a long and treacherous business trip. That's kind of how the Stars felt when their plane landed after being on the road for the last week and a half. They played on both coasts and have learned what they need to work on and what's going well for them at the moment. I'm sure the Stars want a do-over after going 2-3-1 on the trip, but there's nothing they can do about it now other than move forward with the season.
They have a massive opponent coming to Dallas this afternoon. The Tampa Bay Lightning have been one of the hottest teams in the league until the St. Louis Blues cooled them down on Friday night. I don't know whether that's a good thing or a bad thing for the Stars because that could mean they are ticked off or brought back down to earth. Here are some news tidbits ahead of this afternoon's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Dallas Stars News: The Tampa Bay storm is rolling into town
I was hoping the Stars would have a win coming into this afternoon's game against the Lightning, but both teams are looking to start new win streaks today. Nikita Kucherov and the Lightning would love nothing more than to shut down the Stars, who are spiraling out of control. I would really love the Stars to fix their faceoff issue this afternoon to shut down the Lightning and get something going into the Olympic break, which is right around the corner. Stay tuned for the pregame article later this morning.
Dallas Stars News: Jake Oettinger starting this afternoon
It should be no surprise that the Stars are putting their franchise goaltender in the game today. Jake Oettinger is the perfect goaltender to slow down this treacherous storm coming into DFW. Oettinger is looking to get a win after he showed up in Utah, but the rest of the team didn't. The prim and proper Oetter has a .903 save percentage coming into today's game against the Lightning. Hopefully, the rest of the team shows up and helps him get the win against Tampa Bay.
Dallas Stars News: Cameron Schmidt becoming a big problem in Seattle
The Dallas Stars have one of the hottest prospects in the WHL right now with Cameron Schmidt. The fact that he fell to the third round in last year's NHL Draft to the Stars is nothing more than a miracle. He was traded to the Seattle Thunderbirds after starting the season with the Vancouver Giants. I'm not saying that Schmidt is ready for the AHL, but he might get some consideration if he continues to score goal after goal with the Thunderbirds.
Dallas Stars News: Texas Stars starting to turn things around
The Texas Stars are starting to find their footing in the American Hockey League right now. They are 5-3 to begin the 2026 portion of their schedule. Multiple Stars' prospects like AHL All-Star Selection Cameron Hughes have been lighting up the lamp to begin this year. While the Texas Stars might not be making it to the AHL Calder Cup Playoffs this season, the young Stars are learning a lot down there this season. You can watch Cameron Hughes and the Texas Stars take on the Ontario Reign on FloHockey at 5 PM CT today.