2 More, Call it Two Steppin’

So much news happening this off season in the NHL, 2 more games this season and perhaps 2 more teams next season- let’s go! 84 games will still fly by in our season, are we going to feel the crunch in April a little more than usual or will it feel lost in the blend of them all? With this new format we finally get to see an even play across the league with same number of games against all opponents.

October can’t come soon enough, but when it does we open up with back to back games starting the 2nd against the Blues. However my excitement is preseason against the Wild; will either game be like last post season against the Avs with an absolute gongshow. Fortunately the Stars have a successful track record in back to back games, DeSmith being key in this with how dependable he is for a win as a backup goalie. With a whopping 13 back to back games this season, it grants us lots of weekend series which means fewer late puck drops, unlike last season. Big talks in schedule change this season is our lack of post Thanksgiving game for the first time in over a decade; that’s now been bumped to Saturday this year. I’m more interested in the game previous to that (on Wednesday) against Nashville, where Maverick Borque will no doubtfully be welcomed back into our barn before he even steps out onto the ice; a player everyone was sad to see traded earlier this summer. Another holiday perk game is our NYE homer against the Rangers, a game sure to spark lots of celebration afterwards downtown.

One sure to be on everyone’s radar this season is the All Star in February against the Knights- the stadium series being hosted in Dallas at the AT&T Stadium, we get the home town advantage to fill the seats in victory green. This Saturday night event is one to be the highlight of the week, even though the rest of the league continues with their regular schedules. Although it won’t have the classic outdoor feel we love to see in these winter games, the stadium does have the ability to retract the roof and surprise us all in setting the tone.

Any other games to highlight on the schedule? Any leftover scores to settle from last season? When we see the Islanders will Romanov have bad blood against Mikko like former head coach, Patrick Roy, or will Pete (our former head coach) being his replacement pull focus. Other peak games to look forward to include playing the current Cup holders, the Hurricanes- especially when a former Stars rookie is spending strong minutes on the ice. Games against legends like Crosby, how many more seasons of him filling the stat sheets do we have? Future legends like Celebrini and Bedard whose teams have been building around them, how they continue to develop as serious contending teams for us. Through all these little battles on the ice, will this be the season the Stars pull the frustrations from last post season to push them into the final games for a Cup win this season?