How to Watch
Time: 2:00 pm ET
Place: American Airlines Center
TV: NHL Network (booooo!)
Radio: 97.1 for the good guys and 96.7 for the bad guys
Stars blog: Defending Big D
Preview
Well, the ESPN+ exclusive game didn’t go well. How about a game on NHLN instead? This time it’s gonna be different (better? worse? we’ll see).
Get your hatred for the Stars amped up because we don’t get another chance at them until April 10. This is the last of a 5 game homestand for the Stars who defeated the Sens in OT on Thursday so they should be in good spirits with good energy.
I don’t need or want to say how the Wings last game went (bad). This is an important game for them to see if that was a fluke or if we should be expecting more crumbling against these better teams as our schedule toughens up. With Husso expected to start, that automatically gives the Wings a power-up.
Who to look out for on the Stars? The first line has been tearing it up. The generically named Jason Robertson is leading the pack with 23G and 18A, with 6 of those goals on the powerplay. He’s been with Roope Hintz and Joe Pavelski, the next two top point-getters on the team. And of course, public enemy Jamie Benn will do something to piss everyone off. Don’t forget our Old Friend and Faceoff Expert, Luke Glendening.
Also, watch out for the Stars Sports Crimes Crew. They get themselves into quite a bit of penalty trouble, and the Red Wings powerplay could be the game-changer. Similarly, the Red Wings penalty kill will need to be on point as we are also prone to getting in trouble when the Goon Squad gets riled up.
Oettinger has been their main starter in net, and the Stars have had a rest day and don’t play until Monday so he could be in. Or, they could do the “well, it’s the Red Wings” and give Wedgewood a start.
Keys to the Game
Wake up on time: The Wings were skating through molasses during the Panthers game, everybody was a step behind and sometimes controllers just disconnected altogether. Ned didn’t help, but there were a few sparks of energy otherwise one of the flattest efforts we’ve seen this season.
Stop pucks: The Stars’ 102 goals outpace every other team except…the Sabres? Really? Well, ok then. Anyway, Dallas is capable of scoring a lot of goals, we aren’t always capable of stopping them and we LOVE to give up 35+ shots a game. As of this writing, it’s assumed that Husso will be starting and he’ll have his work cut out for him. Team defense would be a great thing to have.
6 minutes of hell: Don’t give up goals in the last 2 minutes of the period. Achieve that three times.