Thank the Lord tonight's game doesn't start at 9 PM CT, and it starts at 7 PM. I think everyone is tired of the late-night hockey games this season. While the Stars were victorious in their win vs the Vancouver Canucks last night, they quickly have to change gears when they take on the Calgary Flames. Tonight's game is going to be interesting for a variety of reasons. From Lian Bichsel almost scoring a hat trick last night to possibly getting Calgary's Blake Coleman in a trade, it has a bunch of storylines.
One thing to watch out for tonight is whether Jim Nill or any of the Stars' scouts will be in attendance. The NHL Trade Deadline is on Friday, and the Stars have a lot of money to play with after putting Tyler Seguin on the SELTIR. Could the Stars make a trade with the Flames or another team? That question has yet to be determined. Regardless, the Stars need to enter Friday's game against the Colorado Avalanche with a win. Here are the four keys to the game tonight against the Flames.
Dallas Stars vs. Calgary Flames Preview: 4. Don't trail at the end of the first period
Even though the Stars were tied at the end of the first period last night, they can't allow the Flames to dictate the game tonight. I want to see the Stars grab the game's momentum by the horns and control the outcome tonight. That means watching the Flames realize the Stars mean business on their way to a tenth-straight win. That would be really impressive to see Dallas do with a couple of its top scorers out of the lineup. Control the tempo and extinguish them by the end of the first period.
Dallas Stars vs. Calgary Flames Preview: 3. Get the Hulk involved
I don't know what got into Lian Bichsel, but I loved it being a scoring threat last night in Vancouver. Seeing him go on a hat-trick watch for the first time in his NHL career was very unexpected, but it was needed with two of the Stars' top scoring machines out of the game. I would like to see Lian become a consistent scorer from the blue line before the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin. The Stars have plenty of games left on the schedule for him to do that. Let's see if Bichsel's offense carries over to tonight.
Dallas Stars vs. Calgary Flames Preview: 2. Shut down Matt Coronato
Matt Coronato is a player the Stars absolutely need to keep off the stat sheet heading into tonight's game in Calgary. While his stats don't shout out "franchise scorer," he's an outstanding hockey player the Flames might be trying to build around this week if they find the right trade partners. Miro Heiskanen and Esa Lindell are going to do their best to shut him down and keep him out of DeSmith's line of sight. That's how the Stars are going to come home with four points in two days.
Dallas Stars vs. Calgary Flames Preview: 1. Help Casey DeSmith out
The Stars did a good job of helping Jake Oettinger out after finding themselves down 1-0 in the first period. The defense in front of Oettinger tightened up after seeing Evander Kane (Side-eye emoji) score on a fortunate bounce. Now the Stars need to carry that over into tonight's game and do the same thing for DeSmith as he looks to carry the Stars to ten-straight wins. The Stars can have a ten-game winning streak going into Friday's massive showdown if they help DeSmith out.