It’s time to drop the puck in Dallas.
DALLAS - The stage is set for tonight’s season opener against the Blues at American Airlines Center.
The Stars will hold a morning skate where we could learn whether forwards Roope Hintz (upper body), Wyatt Johnston (non-surgical procedure) and Radek Faksa (facial contusion) will be available for the contest.
After reaching the Western Conference Finals last year, head coach Pete DeBoer knows that his group is favored to make another serious run at a Stanley Cup, and potentially claim the franchise’s first championship since 1999.
There’s a long and winding road ahead, however, that begins with the first of 82 regular season games.
“It’s a special opportunity. We had a really good camp. You always hit some adversity and we hit it early with some injuries, which we’re still dealing with, but I think it gave us a chance to see our depth already and that’s comforting to know that you can take Wyatt Johnston and Roope out and still field a competitive team that can compete against anybody,” said DeBoer, following Wednesday’s practice in Frisco. “But, that enthusiasm still doesn’t count for points in the standings. It doesn’t get you a playoff spot. With the parity in this league, I think Jim [Nill] was talking the other day - there’s typically five teams that were playoff teams the year before that don’t make the playoffs the next year, so there’s going to be four or five surprises and there’s going to be four or five disappointments, and we want to make sure we aren’t in that category.”
That’s where the likes of Jason Robertson, Jamie Benn, Joe Pavelski, Matt Duchene, Miro Heiskanen, Joe Pavelski and Jake Oettinger come into play.
Robertson led the Stars in all three major offensive categories last season with 46 goals, 63 assists and 109 points.
Puck drop is 7:00 p.m. CT.