Nashville and Dallas battle tonight at Bridgestone Arena.
It's never a boring hockey game when the Nashville Predators and Dallas Stars face off. Not only are the two teams central division rivals, but they always seem to be in each other's way. Like two middle school social circles, any time their paths cross drama usually ensues.
Recent hockey history has stirred the pot considerably. The two teams faced off in the first round of the playoffs in 2019 where Dallas edged out the Predators in six games. The Winter Classic in 2020 might've been a chance for the teams to form a pseudo-comaraderie competing in the Winter Classic, but Corey Perry's intentionally errant elbow to Ryan Ellis's head eliminated any good will from that shared experience. And Ryan Suter's scorched-earth exit from Smashville and eventual buy out by Dallas in 2021 sealed the deal. When #20 in green touches the puck at Bridgestone it isn't "Suuuuuuuuuuuuuter" the crowd is yelling.
Last season when these teams met, the Predators edged out the Stars in three of the four games. Each contest was painfully close. Nashville's November 4-2 win was the biggest margin of victory for either team, and it involved a last second empty net goal. Another of Nashville's wins came via a shootout. The other two games were decided by one goal. The end of last season was an all out sprint to the finish by the two to settle playoff spots. Nashville let up at the tape and ended up facing off against eventual Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche in a brutal first round series sweep. Dallas lasted seven games before dropping their first round series to the Calgary Flames.
Recent drama aside, Dallas and Nashville have a few things in common. The two franchises have been through major transitions. Nashville welcomed a new head coach mid season in 2019-2020 as John Hynes took the reins after Peter Laviolette was relieved of his duties. Dallas is walking through similar change with new head coach Pete DeBoer who was hired this summer after Rick Bowness stepped down. Both Hynes and DeBoer joined their respective franchises after being dismissed by a different NHL franchise. (Coincidentally, both head coaches spent time at the helm of the New Jersey Devils.)
Both teams have goaltenders they can - and will - rely on. Juuse Saros has the edge in experience having played 223 NHL games, while 6'5" Oettinger clearly has the size advantage. Despite the disparity in those statistics, the two are goaltenders who have the ability to steal wins for their respective teams.
The Stars and Preds jockeyed for position in the central in recent seasons. Where one team was in the rankings, the other was not far behind. In 2019-2020, the Stars finished third and the Preds fifth. Even with a modified division in 2021, the teams finished fourth and fifth, and last season the Stars edged the Preds out of fourth place in the central. Franchises often go in cycles, and Nashville and Dallas ebbed and flowed together these last few years.
The same may be true in 2022-2023. The Colorado Avalanche are the odds on favorite to win the division, but Nashville and Dallas are two teams that could be in yet another battle for points and playoffs this season. With the middle of the central up for grabs, the games between the Stars and Preds will again retain an elevated sense of significance.
The frenemies face off for another season of enmity tonight at Bridgestone Arena.