Dallas looks to shake off last year’s early exit as they face a revamped St. Louis squad featuring new faces Mason McTavish and Connor McMichael.
On Friday, the Dallas Stars open their season against division rival St. Louis Blues. The game also marks 40 years since the first NHL game was played in Dallas in September 1986, when the Edmonton Oilers and Detroit Red Wings squared off at Reunion Arena.
The Stars will look to start on the right foot after a disappointing finish to last season, when they were knocked out in the first round by the Minnesota Wild and failed to win a playoff round for the first time since 2022.
The early exit will hopefully serve as a sobering experience for a team that has come close to the mountaintop, having won ten playoff rounds since 2019. The Stars begins the new season with endless possibilities against a Blues team it has dominated of late, winning seven of the last eight meetings.
Dallas returns almost entirely the same roster as a year ago, with the exception of Matt Duchene, who was unexpectedly placed on long-term injured reserve before the start of the season.
St. Louis, meanwhile, will present a very different look, with Dylan Holloway back and fully healthy and several notable additions in Mason McTavish, acquired from the Anaheim Ducks, and Connor McMichael, who arrived in the trade that sent top-six forward Jordan Kyrou to the Washington Capitals.
They also made meaningful depth additions in forward Dillon Dube and defenseman Brandon Carlo, moves that should make this group more complete than last year's roster.
Dallas Stars’ Expected Line Combinations vs. St. Louis (Friday)
Hryckowian - Johnston - Rantanen
Robertson - Hintz - Seguin
Kiviranta - Hyry - Benn
Back - Faksa - Steel
Harley - Heiskanen
Lindell - Lundkvist
Bichsel - Myers
Oettinger
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