A few scheduling quirks have the Dallas Stars playing the Vegas Golden Knights after a five day layoff. Practice may be a good thing in the long run, but with an extended preseason, followed by a single game prior to a west coast road trip, Head Coach Pete DeBoer opted for a team building weekend in the Palm Springs area.
Now comes the hard part – taking on a Vegas team with three 4-1 victories under their belts. Admittedly, two of those wins were against the Anaheim Ducks and the San Jose Sharks, but the season opening 4-1 win over the Seattle Kraken shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Just three games in, the Golden Knights have seen their roster shaken a bit. In the opening game against the Kraken, Alex Pietrangelo took a puck to the face – not a long term injury, but one that has seen him miss the last two games. Also missing for those two games was Brett Howden, who picked up a two game suspension for a hit to the head of Brandon Tanev. William Carrier has been out as well.
But its the defensive end where Vegas is relying on depth. Pietrangelo will be back shortly – perhaps against the Stars, but top four defenders Alec Martinez and Zach Whitecloud both started the season on injured reserve. Technically, both are eligible to return against the Stars, but Martinez is the only one who might be ready.
Dallas Stars Lineup
All signs point to Roope Hintz returning to the Stars lineup. Everything else just falls into place – with Craig Smith getting the nod over Sam Steel on the fourth line.
Jason Robertson (21) – Roope Hintz (24) – Joe Pavelski (16)
Jamie Benn (14) – Wyatt Johnston (53) – Evgenii Dadonov (63)
Mason Marchment (27) – Matt Duchene (95) – Tyler Seguin (91)
Craig Smith (15) – Radek Faksa (12) – Ty Dellandrea (10)
Ryan Suter (20) – Miro Heiskanen (4)
Esa Lindell (23) – Nils Lundqvist (5)
Thomas Harley (55) – Jani Hakanpää (2)
Jake Oettinger (29)
Scott Wedgewood (41)
Vegas Golden Knights Lineup
Ivan Barbashev (49) – Jack Eichel (9) – Jonathan Marchessault (81)
Brett Howden (21) – Chandler Stephenson (20) – Mark Stone (61)
Paul Cotter (43) – William Karlsson (71) – Michael Amadio (22)
William Carrier (28) – Nicolas Roy (10) – Keegan Kolesar (55)
Nicolas Hague (14) – Kaedan Korczak (6)
Brayden McNabb (3) – Shea Theodore (27)
Ben Hutton (17) – Brayden Pachal (94)
Adin Hill (33)
Logan Thompson (36)
Carrier is potentially back in the lineup after missing two games with an upper body injury. This leaves the Golden Knights with virtually the same lineup up front that the Stars faced when Vegas eliminated them from last years playoffs (with Cotter replacing the departed Reilly Smith). If Carrier can’t go, expect Pavel Dorofeyev on the fourth line in his spot.
Defensively, the third pairing is somewhat inexperienced and undersized, with Martinez and Pietrangelo out. Not that its made much difference with Hill and Thompson giving up a single goal a game.
Keys to the Game
Unclog the offense. With the return of Hintz, the Stars have all of their pieces playing in their presumed slots. Vegas is going to be hard on the forecheck, so ramping up the transition game will give the Stars their best chances. It might help to kick off some game action rust as well.
Adin Hill vs. Jake Oettinger. Hill is no Jordan Binnington. OK – maybe he is (he’s won a Stanley Cup as an unheralded young netminder). Oettinger is one for one in goalie duals this year.
Defensive Zone Transitions. Heiskanen is the only reliable defenseman when it comes to carrying to puck out of the defensive zone. Harley has stepped up in his short professional career. On the other hand, Lundqvist is better in the offensive zone than he is in getting to the offensive zone. Beyond that, successful clears up the boards might be the best case scenario. Vegas will cycle this game to death if the Stars can’t find a way to create time and space.