The Dallas Stars will take on the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night in the second preseason game, with a couple of new faces on the ice along with several players that also played on Monday against the Blues.
Curtis McKenzie, coming off a tremendous game in which he led the team in hits and shots and even fought Steve Ott, will get another shot on the ice next to Travis Morin. Meanwhile, Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin will be making their preseason debut, with Ryan Garbutt taking the sidekick spot on their right wing.
“We’re just trying to give everyone who deserves a look an opportunity to play,” said coach Lindy Ruff. “There will be guys that play a little bit more that we feel may need the added time. From game to game we’ll just make that decision.”
Here are the lines from morning skate, as passed along via Mike Heika:
Benn-Seguin-Garbutt
McKenzie-Morin-Eaves
Cole-Faksa-Stransky
Smith-Dowling-Hemsky
The Stars will also have several young defensemen back on the ice again, with Jyki Jokipakka and Jamie Oleksiak getting the chance to build off good games from Monday. Here are the expected pairings:
Goligoski-Connauton
Oleksiak-Jokipakka
Gaunce-Fortunus
Expected goaltenders tonight will be Jack Campbell and Jussi Rynnas, with both splitting the time equally with a switch in the second period.
Ruff mentioned that several injured players are expected to possibly be ready for Friday’s game against Tampa Bay, with Brett Ritchie (pinkie), Trevor Daley (hip pointer) and Valeri Nichushkin (groin) likely to play in the next game. Colton Sceviour and John Klingberg are closer, but still dealing with recovering from their respective surgeries.
Ruff noted that Klingberg was feeling a bit sore after all the work over the weekend and the team is being cautious with him as he works back from double hip surgery.
You can see Ruff’s full scrum below, if you are so inclined.