The Dallas Stars will not get a practice day before they kickoff their second round matchup against the Colorado Avalanche.
It’s been confirmed now that the Stars and Avalanche will kickoff Game 1 on Saturday at 7 PM CDT. It’ll be broadcast on prime time, will be the only matchup on the docket as of now, and will be on NBC channels from here one out.
The two teams will open the second round of the playoffs for the NHL.
DAL/COL Game 1 8ET Saturday night
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) August 21, 2020
Today is a mandated day off for the Stars, who just finished playing five games in eight nights. Interim head coach Rick Bowness said the team had mandated a field trip of sorts for their players today. They’ll be heading out on buses to Commonwealth Stadium, home of Edmonton’s CFL team, where they can kick some soccer balls around and take part in other miscellaneous outdoor activities designed to get the players outside and away from the monotony of hotel to rink to hotel without getting so much as some time outdoors.
They’ll need to relax and refresh themselves today and then go back to work tomorrow. Without even a day of practice time between the two rounds, you’d expect that Anton Khudobin will be the Stars’ starter for Round 2. Even if Ben Bishop is back from whatever is keeping him unfit to play currently, they’d likely try to get him at least one practice in before returning to game action. Ditto the same for Stephen Johns and Mattias Janmark, who both were also unfit to play in yesterday’s elimination game versus the Calgary Flames.
No rest for the wicked (or weary) when broadcast money is on the line.