Central Division preview: Will Stars stand out in reshaped alignment?

One of the most significant changes to the NHL in 2020-21 is the new divisional alignment and its corresponding change to the schedule.
Because the COVID-19 pandemic has forced different countries to react differently, the Canadian teams at this time are not allowed to travel freely back and forth between the United States without quarantine time. To resolve that dilemma, the league has created a division for the seven Canadian teams so they can play only against one another and not have to leave the country. That means divisional play only for those teams.

To correspond with that decision, the league has made three other divisions and those will also have division-only play. As a result, the format and the competition are going to create a unique challenge for the 56-game season.
"Bottom line, every game is a four-point game," said Stars coach Rick Bowness, noting that if a team were to go on a winning streak or a losing streak, it could affect the standings in a huge way.
"You really have to be able to focus and be consistent and just stick to your game plan. It's going to be a real test."

The Stars last season started 1-7-1 and then bounced back to finish third in the Central Division (37-24-8), so there were significant streaks. This season, those streaks could be magnified. You are playing the same seven teams eight times apiece, so a winning streak for you will push opponents further down the standings, while a losing streak could dig a hole that could be pretty big. But, because everything is in the same group, recovery could also be quicker.
Stars general manager Jim Nill said teams will have to be smart and consistent. If a team has key injuries, it will have to be able to recover and count on organizational depth.
"I think depth will be pretty big," Nill said. "You'll need to rely on your entire roster."
The top four teams in the division will make the playoffs and play against one another in the first two rounds. The next four will see their season end. That's a pretty sharp difference in outcome for teams have been built to win now.
Tampa Bay is the defending Stanley Cup champion and will be the favorite in the division. Over the past three seasons, the Lightning have 16 more regular season wins than second place Boston and lead the league in goals for (893) and goal differential (plus-0.86 per game) in that span.

Dallas is the defending Western Conference champion and lost to the Lightning in six games in the Stanley Cup Final, so the Stars also will have high expectations. Carolina finished 38-25-5 and lost to Boston in five games in the playoffs, so the Hurricanes also will be in the mix, while Nashville, Florida, Columbus and Chicago are all considered wild cards that likely will be battling to get into the top four.
Detroit had the worst record in the league, but should be improved.
The Stars were originally expected to play in the Western Division, but were instead placed in the Central with four Eastern Conference teams with which they are not that familiar. While it would be easy to debate which division is tougher, Nill said he believes both are equally difficult.
"It's a very competitive division. We're all within three or four wins of each other," Nill said.
"You see it all of the time where a team loses a couple of shootouts and that's the difference between making it and not making it. You look at either of these divisions and they're very tough. It's going to be an accomplishment to make the playoffs in either division."

The Stars know the Lightning well after their six-game series, and Bowness was an assistant coach with Tampa Bay three seasons ago, so he is familiar with Florida, Carolina, Columbus and Detroit. Mix that with a knowledge of Chicago and Nashville as longtime divisional rivals, and Dallas could have a leg up.
But Bowness said he's not buying into that theory.
"Players change, coaches change, every season is a new season," he said. "We're going to do what we have always done, and that's worry about the Dallas Stars."
It worked well for them in the playoffs.
Here are the eight teams in the Central Division:

Tampa Bay Lightning

2019-20 record: 43-21-6 (2nd in NHL)
Playoffs: won Stanley Cup
Overview: The Lightning have hands down been the best team in the NHL over the past three seasons and were extremely motivated in winning the Stanley Cup last season. Will they have Cup hangover, especially with leading scorer Nikita Kucherov out for the season after hip surgery? Possibly, but this still is a team with Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman and Andrei Vasilevskiy. They are deep and fast and smart. There are questions here, but this still has to be the favorite to win the division

Dallas Stars

2019-20 record: 37-24-8
Playoffs: lost to Tampa Bay in Stanley Cup Final, 4-2
Overview:The Stars will be without leading scorer Tyler Seguin (hip) and No. 1 goalie Ben Bishop (knee) until March, and that is a big challenge. However, the team is hoping a long playoff run will help spur improvement in their 20-somethings like Miro Heiskanen, Roope Hintz and Denis Gurianov, and also believe that they have the depth to handle this unique format. The Stars learned a lot about adapting in the playoffs.

Carolina Hurricanes

2019-20 record: 38-25-5
Playoffs: lost to Boston in first round, 4-1
Overview: The Hurricanes have pushed forward in the past two seasons, only to run into a brick wall in Boston in the playoffs. Is this the year, they break through and make a long playoff run? They have two talented young forwards in Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov and a big defenseman in Dougie Hamilton, but will that be enough? Much will hinge for Carolina on the goaltending duo of Petr Mrazek and James Reimer.

Nashville Predators

2019-20 record: 35-26-8
Playoffs:lost to Arizona in play-in round, 3-1
Overview:The Predators have been in a downturn since making it to the Stanley Cup Final in 2017. New coach John Hynes gets a full season this year, and has some solid players to help create offense in Filip Forsberg, Ryan Johansen and Roman Josi. The real question might be whether the goaltending duo of Pekka Rinne and Juuse Soros can take a step up. If they do, the Predators could be a spoiler.

Columbus Blue Jackets

2019-20 record:33-22-15
Playoffs:lost to Tampa Bay in the first round, 4-1.
Overview: One of the most unpredictable teams in the league for the past two seasons, Columbus is again a wild card. Adding Max Domi and Mikko Koivu in the offseason should help, and getting development from players like Pierre-Luc Dubois could make things easier for coach John Tortorella. The Stars are 2-9-2 in the past seven seasons against the Blue Jackets, so that will have to change this season. On the good side, Stars fans should get the chance to see Plano product Seth Jones a lot this season.

Florida Panthers

2019-20 record:35-26-8
Playoffs:lost to the Islanders in the play-in round, 3-1
Overview:Another team that has been inconsistent and should be battling for a playoff spot. The Panthers put so much into the goaltending basket last season, signing Sergei Bobrovsky to a seven-year contract at $10 million per season. Bobrovsky responded with a 3.23 GAA and .900 save percentage, and wasn't much better in the playoffs. If he rebounds to his normal numbers, the Panthers really could be significantly better. Coach Joel Quenneville has a year under his belt in Florida, and that also makes this a team to watch.

Chicago Blackhawks

2019-20 record: 32-30-8
Playoffs: lost to Vegas in the first round, 4-1
Overview: The Blackhawks might be entering the heart of their rebuild. Captain Jonathan Toews is out indefinitely with an undisclosed medical issue and the trio of Malcolm Subban, Collin Dellia and Kevin Lankinen will battle to replace Corey Crawford in goal. Mattias Janmark has the chance to step in and play a bigger role with the Blackhawks after signing with them as a free agent, so that will be something to watch.

Detroit Red Wings

2019-20 record:17-49-5
Playoffs: Did not qualify
Overview: The Red Wings were far and a way the worst team in the NHL with just 39 points (Ottawa was 30th at 62) and a minus-122 goal differential, so there's a lot of work to do. That said, GM Steve Yzerman is determined to make this rebuild work, so Detroit should start showing signs of improvement. The Wings have a nice scoring trio of Dylan Larkin, Anthony Mantha and Tyler Bertuzzi and added Tomas Greiss in goal.
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heikais a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika, and listen to his podcast.