First Shift 🏒
Not that they want to lose an edge or anything, but the Stars do have the chance to take a deeper breath this week.
Playing just their second game in eight days, Dallas was able to get some much-needed rest and host some full practices to reset after a hectic month of playing every other night. Now, as they enter their traditional New Year’s Eve game on Wednesday, the team is in a good place and ready to go.
“I think the New Year’s Eve game is always fun,” said forward Colin Blackwell. “There’s always a little more juice in the crowd. Obviously, there is history with Buffalo, but they’ve also won nine in a row and they’re on a hot streak. So we’ve got to rise up to the occasion.”
Dallas plays the team it beat in the 1999 Stanley Cup with Lindy Ruff back behind the Buffalo bench as head coach, so that is a fun sidebar. But the Sabres have won nine games in a row and look to be trending in the right direction. That should provide motivation for the Stars.
And while Dallas is 18-3-4 in its past 25 games, it has lost the past two in extra time. While an overtime loss to Detroit and a shootout loss at the hands of Chicago aren’t seen as huge demerits, it’s something the Stars don’t like to see, especially as Colorado (9-0-1 in last 10) and Minnesota (8-1-1 in last 10) continue to rattle off wins.
“That’s never how you want to go in consecutive games,” Blackwell said. “You don’t want it to happen a third time. So this is a great opportunity to jump start a back-to-back and then go into a hectic stretch.”
Stars coach Glen Gulutzan is trying to manage practice time while getting his team rest and some needed practice. Dallas had a nice workout at Children’s Health StarCenter in Euless on Sunday and then practiced at American Airlines Center on Tuesday.
“You always like to practice where you play,” Gulutzan said. “We used the boards a lot today, just to get used to your own boards. We like it. It works out well.”
Goalie Jake Oettinger missed the Sunday workout while getting some extra rest, as did defensemen Nils Lundkvist and Ilya Lyubushkin. All three practiced on Tuesday, so they should be ready to go. And with Dallas preparing for a hectic January, playing games with fresh legs is something the individual players would like to take advantage of.
“I think it’s good,” said Oettinger. “My body got some time to chill and you can shut your mind off. I’ll take the days off when I can get it, and then one morning skate and I feel like I’m back into it. I feel fresh, and I think that’s half the battle.”
Dallas has made a history of sending fans home happy on New Year’s Eve, as the team is 16-5-3 in these games since moving to Dallas (15-5-3 as the home team), so they also take that seriously.
“It’s fun for the fans,” Oettinger said. “I would love to go to a hockey game on New Year’s Eve, so hopefully we can get a win and get a great start to the night for all of the fans that come out.”
