While the Dallas Stars ultimately lost 6-2 to the Detroit Red Wings tonight, the hockey game featured a lot of physicality. I've never seen so many hits and little scrums breaking out during a hockey game as I did tonight. The Stars' prospects definitely brought the boom to the Red Wings. Not everything went according to plan; there were plenty of mistakes throughout the night. However, I see physicality in the Stars' lineup in the near future.
Give credit to the Red Wings for coming into tonight's game and taking it to the Stars. You might be wondering why I'm complimenting the Red Wings. The reason is that it showed the Stars' prospects that they have some work to do before being on the opening night roster or being recalled for an injury. There is a lot of promise in the group of guys that took the ice tonight. Here are the three takeaways from tonight's loss to the Red Wings.
Dallas Stars vs. Detroit Red Wings: 3. Cameron Schmidt did fine
One of the players I was interested in keeping an eye on tonight was Cameron Schmidt. Since it was his first game in the Victory Green sweater, I wanted to see what he would bring to the lineup on a given night if the Stars had him on the roster. Even though he's 5'7, he was able to hang in there with some of the big bodies the Red Wings brought to Frisco for this weekend. I also loved the hustle he had on every shift. He still has some developing to do, but I see why Jim Nill selected him in the third round this summer.
Dallas Stars vs. Detroit Red Wings: 2. I was a little stunned by Kraws
Benjamin Kraws did not have the best of games between the pipes tonight. You could tell he really wanted a mulligan to impress Toby Petersen. While some of the goals were ones that Jake Oettinger might not have saved, I was expecting a bit more from him tonight, and he didn't come through. Luckily, he will have some more games to impress the Stars during the preseason. Kraws is still a good goaltender, but had one heck of a stinker tonight.
Dallas Stars vs. Detroit Red Wings: 1. Scrappy Gents
I'll tell you one thing, Oettinger is expediting some of these physical players to get to the NHL within the following year. I wanted to see if they would clear out the front of the net in the Stars' zone, and they made sure Kraws had plenty of time to know where the puck was in the zone. That's something that's been missing from the Stars' lineup the past couple of seasons. If you want to catch them in action, they play again later tonight at 6:00 P.M at the Comerica Center.