The Dallas Stars face the Winnipeg Jets in a Central Division showdown Saturday afternoon.
The Dallas Stars head north to take on the Winnipeg Jets in a matinee game between two of the top teams in the Central Division.
The Stars are coming off a 3-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks to bounce back after a disappointing two losses in Tampere, Finland when the Stars played the Florida Panthers in the NHL's Global Series. Dallas has had a fairly easy schedule so far outside of facing the defending Stanley Cup champions, but today's game against Winnipeg, who is first in the league, will be a good measuring stick for the Stars.
The Jets are coming off a low-scoring 1-0 win against the Colorado Avalanche and have moved to 13-1-0. They are only the second NHL team to ever win 13 of their first 14 games in a season. Goaltender Connor Hellebyuck has recorded back-to-back shutouts coming into today's game, making 35 saves in the win against the Avs. Gabe Vilardi scored the only goal of the game very early in the first period, and it was a goaltending show for the rest of the game.
New Jets coach Scott Arniel has taken over the reigns for former Dallas Stars head coach Rick Bowness, who retired after two seasons in charge of Winnipeg. Bowness took the Jets to the playoffs both seasons, but flamed out in the first round each time. Arniel has made the transition look seamless, and Winnipeg looks much more dangerous offensively in the early going this season.
If Dallas wants to show that they are going to challenge for the division title for a second year in a row, this game will make an early statement that the Stars will not allow the Jets to run away with it. Obviously, the Jets point pace is unsustainable, but Winnipeg has looked like a complete team and could be on the verge of putting it all together. The key for the Jets is to figure out how to sustain that completeness through the entire season and keep it going into the postseason, where they have had very limited success through the years.
What to watch for:
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Puck drop is at 2 p.m. CDT and can be seen on Victory+ locally and ESPN+ in out of market areas.
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