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Pregame Notes (9): One Last Game Before Crossing the Pond

taylor newby
·3 min read

For the Dallas Stars, hockey in the month of October is only one game from completion as the team welcomes the Chicago Blackhawks to Dallas before taking six days off and heading to Tampere, Finland.

Until now, games have been coming thick and fast for the Stars, who have played every other day since the start of the season, barring one extra day off before the Buffalo Sabres game Tuesday. This is all due to the Stars trip to Finland on Nov. 1 and 2 to play the Florida Panthers in the NHL Global Series. They have a break before and after the trip, so the beginning of the season has been packed with games. Dallas is 6-2-0 so far in the early going despite the packed schedule and still going through some growing pains finding their complete game.

For example, Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen just recorded his first point of the season Thursday night in a 5-2 win over the Boston Bruins. Prior to that, the only Stars defender with any points was Thomas Harley, who has a goal and three assists on the year.

Related: Stars Defenseman Snaps Pointless Drought

The message from head coach Pete DeBoer to play more physical and with newfound intensity seemed to resonate with the team in that win over Boston on Thursday, and now the Stars look to continue that level of play into a very winnable game against the Blackhawks. It hasn't always been easy for Dallas to play Chicago, especially in Dallas where thousands of transplant Blackhawks fans always show up for their team. The Blackhawks were a dynasty for a long time, but have certainly had their struggles since the core broke up.

Even with new superstar Connor Bedard coming into his sophomore season, the Hawks have not gotten off to a great start, sitting at 2-5-1 early on and currently on a three-game losing streak. The team is certainly improved from the bare bones roster from last year, adding Teuvo Teravainen, Tyler Bertuzzi, Ilya Mikheyev, TJ Brodie, Pat Maroon, Laurent Brossoit and former Stars forward Craig Smith.

Chicago played the first half of a back-to-back Friday night at home against the Nashville Predators, losing 3-2. Starting goaltender Petr Mrazek made 31 saves on 34 Preds shots but Brady Skeji scored the tie-breaking goal on the power play in the third period for Nashville. The Hawks had a 2-0 lead thanks to Smith's third goal of the season and Bedard's second tally.

Expect Brossoit to play in net for Chicago tonight. Brossoit spent last season backing up Connor Hellebuyck in Winnipeg last season.

What to watch for:

  • Despite those struggles against Chicago in the Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews era, the Stars have actually won 10 of their last 12 games against the Hawks, including four of the last five in Dallas.

  • Jason Robertson has 22 points in only 19 career games against the Blackhawks. Robertson has four goals and two assists so far on the year.

  • Matt Duchene leads the Stars with nine points in eight games so far this year. His play has been excellent so far, and he has gotten off to a great start just like last season.

  • After getting his first point against Boston, Heiskanen could be poised for more tonight, having recorded a point per game in his last 13 meetings with the Blackhawks.

Projected lines:

Robertson-Hintz-Stankoven
Marchment-Duchene-Seguin
Benn-Johnston-Dadonov
Steel-Back-Blackwell

Dumba-Heiskanen
Harley-Lybushkin
Lindell-Lundkvist

Oettinger
DeSmith

It is the Stars annual Halloween game, with fans being asked to dress in costume and to embrace their spooky side for the game.

Puck drop is at 7 p.m. CDT and can be seen on Victory+ locally and ESPN+ in out of market areas.

Make sure you bookmark THN's Dallas Stars site for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.

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