First Shift 🏒
The Stars will face the defending Stanley Cup champion Saturday, and that’s a big deal in the NHL.
The Florida Panthers have won back-to-back Cups, but are missing leaders Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk, and are off to a 5-5-1 start. It still will be a challenge for the Stars.
“They’re a good team,” said Stars defenseman Thomas Harley. “Obviously missing Barkov and Tkachuk, they’re a little different, but we’re missing Roope Hintz] and [Matt [Duchene], so it evens out. They’re still a very good team and we’re going to have our hands full with them.”
Duchene skated Friday in practice but didn’t participate in line rushes. Hintz is in Texas recovering. Oskar Bäck did skate in line rushes, so he could return and the Stars could go back to a lineup with 12 forwards and 6 defensemen. They will decide that on Saturday.
The real push right now is to get the scoring up. They have two goals in the past two games and 12 in the past seven, so getting some goals has been a big topic of conversation.
“I think we can be a lot better in every aspect of our game,” defenseman Miro Heiskanen said, pointing to the fact goalie Jake Oettinger has been having to work hard every game. “We’re defending a lot right now and Jakey has to make a lot of big saves. We’d like to help him a little more and play more in the offensive zone.”
Asked what they could do to increase the scoring, Heiskanen said: “It feels like we’re thinking too much. Maybe play more with your instincts and work a little harder.”
The Stars had a 5-on-3 against Tampa Bay on Thursday with the score tied 1-1 in the third period and couldn’t score. That was an example of how just one key goal could make a big difference.
“It’s still hockey,” Harley said. “You’ve just got to make reads and trust your instincts. It’s not that complicated. Sometimes we make it look complicated, but it’s not.”