It has been a very long season for the Dallas Stars. It feels like it was October yesterday. The Stars play game 82 against the St. Louis Blues as they look to wrap up their 82 regular season schedule. The Stars will start Jake Oettinger if the Western Conference title isn't wrapped up yet. They were relying on the Flames to upset the Canucks last night. Since the Canucks won the game against the Flames, Oettinger will start in goal against the Blues.
Evgenii Dadonov will get a warmup game tonight. He is healthy and ready to return to action after being out of the lineup since the beginning of March. That is when the Stars decided to promote Logan Stankoven to the NHL. It was announced this morning that Tyler Seguin will have the night off. Dadonov will play on the second line because Stankoven and Johnston must work on their chemistry tonight before the playoffs start.
As for the Star's potential playoff opponent, it looks like it's coming down between the Los Angeles Kings or the Vegas Golden Knights. The Stars should be able to take care of either team, but Blackout Dallas will have a preview for our readers once it's finalized who will be the first-round opponent. It will be a great series regardless of who the Stars play. The only thing is fans better be ready for 9:00 PM games since our opponent will be on the West Coast. Here are the three keys of the game tonight against the Blues.
Dallas Stars vs. St. Louis Blues: 3. Make It to overtime
If the Stars don't have the gas in the tank to win the game tonight, make sure to at least force overtime. All the Stars need is one point to clinch the Western Conference Championship. All I care about is getting at least one point tonight while making sure everyone on the Stars' roster leaves the game healthy for the first round of the playoffs. The Blues will make the Stars fight for that one point tonight. They would love nothing more than to help the Canucks out.
Dallas Stars vs. St. Louis Blues: 2. Shut down Jordan Kyrou
The Blues player that the Stars need to shut down should sound familiar. Jordan Kyrou is the top scorer on the Blues going into tonight's matchup with the Dallas Stars. He currently has 31 goals and 36 assists going into the game tonight. He is a very crafty player in his opponents' zone. He would love to catch a defender napping and score a goal. The Stars must be alert when Kyrou enters the Stars' zone. If the Stars can shut down Kyrou, they should come away with a win tonight against the Blues.
Dallas Stars vs. St. Louis Blues: 1. Get the chemistry down
The Stars need every one of their lines to practice building chemistry with their linemates tonight. The chemistry between linemates could be a godsend or the downfall of a team in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Hockey fans have seen some of the best-built teams fall out of the playoffs early due to bad line chemistry. With the short time frame the Stars have left to win the Stanley Cup with their current players, chemistry is everything. If the Stars can build chemistry during the game tonight, the Stars should be ready for the Stanley Cup Playoffs that start on Saturday.