Yesterday was a whirlwind of events that kicked off on Saturday morning. First, it was announced that Kyle McDonald and Christian Kyrou were called up to Dallas. It signaled a trade was imminent because neither player had been called up during the regular season. Then, it was announced that Dallas acquired Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci in a trade. Talk about waking up your fanbase because of a trade. It was needed because of Miro Heiskanen's injury and Nils Lundkvist's season-ending surgery.
Fans attending tonight's game will see the new two players in action. The Stars will take on the Columbus Blue Jackets at the American Airlines Center. It's one of the two home games in February. It's a bit unorthodox because the Four Nations Face-Off Tournament is in the middle of the month. Can the Stars silence Boomer and the Blue Jackets tonight? Here are the three keys of the game tonight against the Blue Jackets.
Dallas Stars vs. Columbus Blue Jackets Preview: 3. Time to experiment
I'm sure Pete DeBoer will experiment with where to put the new trade pieces tonight. Granlund and Ceci have experience playing with other members of the Stars. It's just a game DeBoer can use to experiment with their line combinations. I'm sure we will see Granlund get some playing time with Benn's line, and Ceci could play with Lindell. We will see many different lines tonight except the top line. If DeBoer can find the right partners for both players, the Stars should win tonight.
Dallas Stars vs. Columbus Blue Jackets Preview: 2. Shut down Kirill Marchenko
The Stars need to shut down Columbus's hottest player tonight, Kirill Marchenko. He is their leading scorer with 21 goals and 33 assists. He is one of those players you can't allow to be unguarded in your zone. The Stars' defense can't be relaxed against him like they were at the end of the Canucks game the other night. If the Stars can't shut him down and keep him scoreless tonight, it will be a long night at the American Airlines Center.
Dallas Stars vs. Columbus Blue Jackets Preview: 1. Don't be relaxed
The one thing that drove me crazy was how the Stars were relaxed at the end of the third period against the Canucks. The Stars had a nice lead over the Canucks and allowed them to score two garbage goals at the end of the game. I don't want to see that against the Blue Jackets tonight. I want to see the Stars shut down the Blue Jackets for 60 minutes tonight and not let up until the final horn. If the Stars play great defense for 60 minutes, they will beat the Blue Jackets and have a five-game winning streak.