Dallas is hoping to start the Western Canada trek on a positive note in Calgary.
DALLAS - To say the Stars' opponents tonight have struggled to begin the season is an understatement. Puck drop is 7:30 p.m. CT.
The Flames are currently riding a five-game losing streak and have compiled a 2-6-1 record through nine contests, so things aren't exactly going well in Calgary.
That was news to Tyler Seguin following Wednesday's morning skate, though, because he's simply focused on making sure the whole squad picks up where it left off against the Blue Jackets earlier this week in North Texas.
"I wouldn’t have known how Calgary was doing until I walked in and looked at the sheet and saw their record. You’re so focused on yourselves right now. You’re trying to find your start as a team, trying to find your start as individuals, trying to find that swagger as a group and swagger and confidence as individuals," explained Seguin. "The focus right now isn’t too much on what other teams are doing and how they’re playing, it’s just about us collectively as a group."
This marks the start of a three-game road trip through Western Canada that also includes stops in Edmonton on Thursday and Vancouver on Saturday.
The Stars have played just seven games so far this year, so Seguin is looking forward to more and more contests on a regular basis.
"We’ve been asking for these next two weeks of three on the road, back home for one, and three on the road again," said Seguin. "We’ve been asking for more games, just because sometimes I think you need that just to kind of get going and to get feeling the groove of the season."
Goaltender Jake Oettinger will start for Dallas.
Oettinger, 24, has a 4-0-1 record, along with a 1.74 goals-against average and a .940 save percentage, so he's clearly in a groove.
Calgary's less-than-stellar showing aside, head coach Pete DeBoer still expects a challenging matchup.
"That's a dangerous team, a little bit wounded, obviously, and those are always dangerous teams," said DeBoer. "When you look at their lineup, I see four really solid lines, really strong centermen, six veteran defensemen, and an elite goaltender, so I think it’s just one of those teams that’s just finding their way, and you hope that it’s not tonight against us."
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