Dress Rehearsal: Dallas Stars take on St. Louis Blues in final preseason game

The Dallas Stars will play the St. Louis Blues tonight in the final game of the preseason. The Stars are looking to finish undefeated in preseason play. It would be huge if the Stars had that momentum heading into the regular season next week. I know that is something I would want as a head coach traveling to Nashville to take on a team out for blood this season. Even if the Stars lose tonight, they had an outstanding performance during the preseason, and I know they have what it takes to take on the Predators.

One of the main things I will be looking for tonight is whether the Stars can play a complete 60 minutes of hockey. The Stars must play complete all-around games this season to defend their Central Division title. For example, they can't get comfy and let off the gas pedal in Nashville on Thursday night. Nashville has a revamped offense that can quickly get the lead back. Here are the three keys of the game tonight for the Stars in St. Louis.

Dallas Stars vs. St. Louis Blues Preview: 3. Rookie's last impression

The rookies that are playing in tonight's game have one last shot to make an impression on Pete DeBoer and his coaching staff. Oskar Back, Arttu Hyry, Kole Lind, and Lian Bichsel will fight for one of the last remaining spots on the Stars' roster this season. Mavrik Bourque has already locked up his spot. He will more than likely play with Jamie Benn and Logan Stankoven. This is something to watch during the game tonight.

Dallas Stars vs. St. Louis Blues Preview: 2. Make Oettinger's job easy

Another thing I want to see happen is Jake Oettinger have the night off tonight while between the pipes. I want to see the Stars' defense clear out the front of the net and clear the puck out of the zone to eliminate second-chance opportunities in front of him. Another thing I want to see the Blues not do is come right down the middle of the zone and fire the puck at him in the last preseason game that happened to Oettinger. Make his job easy for him tonight before he gets challenged next week.

Dallas Stars vs. St. Louis Blues Preview: 1. Complete game

The last thing I want to see tonight is the Stars compete for a complete 60 minutes tonight. They did that in the previous preseason game against the Minnesota Wild before they scored two goals in less than a minute. However, that shouldn't be a challenge with tonight's squad since most of them will be on the opening night roster if the Stars can compete for a complete 60 minutes tonight and win. They should have no problem getting a win in Nashville to kick off the 2024-25 season.

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