Well, the presents are unwrapped, and Christmas is over for another year. It's time for the Stars to lace up the skates and get back out there for their next stretch of games, which could be a doozy whichever way you look at it. It all starts tonight as they take on the Chicago Blackhawks, followed by the Buffalo Sabres for the New Year's Eve game. Right after that, the Stars board a plane for Chicago to take on the Blackhawks again. Here is a small preview of the upcoming games on the Stars' upcoming schedule.
Dallas Stars' upcoming schedule: Chicago Blackhawks, December 27th, and January 1st
Since the Stars play the Blackhawks twice in the next week and a half, I figured we would take one paragraph to preview them. They will be without Conor Bedard, who's injured and is out for some time. Even though the Blackhawks don't have him in the lineup, Tyler Bertuzzi looks to pick up the offensive slack that will be present while taking on the Blackhawks. I think the Stars can come away with two wins against them; however, that's up to the effort they want to put into the game.
Dallas Stars' upcoming schedule: Buffalo Sabres, December 31st
It stinks the Stars aren't wearing their alternate jerseys on New Year's Eve. The Stars could have rubbed in their Stanley Cup victory over the Sabres in those jerseys. Alex Tuch promises to give the Stars fits as they look to upset the second-best team in the NHL to ring in the new year. I wouldn't be surprised if the Stars come out sluggish against them because they usually do this against teams they can easily beat. However, running up the score to put on a show needs to be the Stars' mission that night.
Dallas Stars' upcoming schedule: Montreal Canadiens, January 4th
The Dallas Stars host the Montreal Canadiens after taking on the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center. It will be their only home game before embarking on a six-game road trip. Lane Hutson and the Canadiens would love to help the Colorado Avalanche continue to separate themselves from the rest of the Central Division. The Stars blew them out of the water in their first matchup of the season. Let's see if that blowout motivates the Canadiens to split the season series against the Stars.
Dallas Stars' upcoming schedule: Carolina Hurricanes, January 6th
The Stars will embark on their six-game road trip in January, kicking it off against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Stars will see former Dallas Stars prospect Logan Stankoven, who is doing well for himself in Carolina. I'm sure that Stankoven would love to get some revenge against his former team after the Stars won their first matchup against the Hurricanes this season. The Stars have their work cut out for them as their post-Christmas schedule begins tonight.