Hello, old foe: Laine presents Stars with familiar tough test in Columbus

Stars (4-1-1, 9 points) at Blue Jackets (4-3-3, 11 points)

Patrik Laine has the Stars' number.
The 22-year-old winger in 17 career games against Dallas with the Winnipeg Jets has 18 goals and five assists for 23 points.
Stars fans have nightmares about Laine.
So now that he has been traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets, a team that has won eight straight against Dallas, it's going to be interesting to see what that combination brings.
"We know where he's going to be on the power play, that's the biggest thing," Stars coach Rick Bowness said.
Laine has been out of the lineup since getting injured in Game 1, and he had to go through the transition of being traded to Columbus, so there are question marks on how much ice time he'll get and how he will be used. But he's a tremendous shooter, and the Stars know they will have to keep track of him.
"We don't know who he is going to play with yet and he hasn't played, so we don't know how much he's going to play," Bowness said, mentioning that two of the team's best defensive defensemen Esa Lindell and Jamie Oleksiak will likely be on Laine's side of the ice.
"Just be aware when he's on the ice. We've got Esa and Rig over on that side, so they can handle him physically. We'll take extra precaution when he's on the ice."

Laine said he's encouraged about getting a fresh start. He had a fantastic beginning to his career with the Jets, but was less consistent last season.
"Really excited to get the new jersey on and play for this team now," Laine said. "Hopefully, I can bring my abilities and my strengths into the lineup and hopefully get a lot of wins."
As for tonight's game, he said he will take it one shift at a time.
"The challenge is getting back after two weeks," Laine said. "Keep the shifts short, play simple. The hands are definitely not there, but they'll come eventually. I'm not going to come and play if I'm not going to be myself. I'm going to play like I played against Calgary my last game and I'm going to fight as hard as I can."
Stars forward Roope Hintz grew up in the same town as Laine and said the Stars simply need to be prepared to face a very hard shot.
"I know him very well," Hintz said. "Of course, he's a really good player. Everyone knows his shot, so we've got to be ready for that on the power play today."
The Stars are going with rookie Jake Oettinger in net. He won his first NHL start last week against Detroit, 7-3, and then came on and stopped 10 shots in a mop-up role against Carolina Saturday.
"He was very excited when we told him last night he was going to play," Bowness said. "He's got a win under his belt now, he came on in relief and played exceptionally well, and now is the time to give him another start."

Dellandrea gets 'breather,' L'Esperance steps in

The Stars' lineup has changed every game so far this season. That's to be expected with the COVID pandemic affecting every team, and injuries popping up.
Of course, there are other issues that also can create changes. Bowness said that rookie Ty Dellandrea will get a healthy scratch Tuesday so he can get a "breather." Joel L'Esperance will jump in for Dellandrea, and that will again force a ripple effect in the lineup.
L'Esperance played 8:57 in a 7-3 win over Detroit last week. He has played 22 career NHL games, tallying three goals. The 25-year-old has led the Texas Stars in scoring the past two seasons, tallying 85 points (55 goals, 30 assists) in 112 games.
"We want everyone playing, we can't let guys sit too long," Bowness said. "We're going to play Joel L'Esperance tonight. He played really well in the Detroit game and we don't want him sitting too long. We're going to give Ty a breather toinight. As a 20-year-year-old, there's a learning curve in the league, so we're going to give him a night off tonight. We've got to win games and we've got to keep everyone as fresh as we can."

Bowness said young players can benefit greatly from watching the game from a different perspective.
"Sometimes, on that ice, you just feel crowded," Bowness said. "The game is so fast out there and what you feel on the ice is constant awareness that there are people around you all of the time. But then you sit up in the stands and you think wow, there's a little bit more room out there than you realize. He's not going to play in every game. We're very happy with Ty. He's a great prospect, he's a big part of our team now, but some nights as a young guy and not the biggest guy in the world, it's good to take a breather."
Hintz said he has benefitted from a different viewpoint in his development.
"For me, it was good to see the game from up top," Hintz said. "You get the games before that and then you go up top and you can see it from there. Of course, it's easier to see the game from there, so I think it's a good thing."

Lineup updates

Jamie Benn and Blake Comeau now have some ice time under their respective belts after returning from injury, so the Stars could go with more normal lines. Comeau is expected to play with Radek Faksa and Andrew Cogliano, but the top six still could be a jumble -- as Benn could play with Hintz and Denis Gurianov or he could be on a line with either Joe Pavelski or Alexander Radulov.

By the numbers

13-2-1

Columbus is 13-2-1 in its past 16 games against the Stars, including winning eight straight.

1

That's the number of power-play goals for the Stars in the past 13 games against the Blue Jackets. Columbus has killed 32 of 33 penalties in that span.

11-6

Columbus has outscored the opposition 11-6 in first periods this season. Dallas has been outscored 2-4. The Stars outscore the opposition 21-9 the rest of the game, while Columbus has been outscored 19-12.

He said it

"We don't know clubs that well, but we know they're a hard-working team. So we have to learn to get a hate on for these teams right away. We know Chicago, we know Nashville, and we now know Tampa, but the other teams we've got get a quick hate on for. "
-- Bowness on how the new division-centric schedule will create new rivalries with teams like Columbus.
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.