The Stars kick off their 25th year in Dallas with Friday night's season opener, and there are a lot of new faces in the mix. GM Jim Nill retooled his team after the Stars missed the playoffs for the second time in four years, bringing in coach Ken Hitchcock and adding goaltender Ben Bishop, defenseman Marc Methot, and forwards Alexander Radulov, Martin Hanzal, and Tyler Pitlick.
Optimism is high around the Stars, and so is the eagerness to get started.
"The excitement is the biggest thing right now. It's probably keeping the emotions in check, almost like a playoff game," said center Tyler Seguin. "It's been such a long offseason. So many things happened, so much talking, all the interviews, the media. It's going to be nice to just start playing hockey again."
It's been about three weeks since the Stars opened training camp under Hitchcock, who is expected to bring more structure and a stronger defensive game to the Stars.
"I want to see some of those things we've preached since day one be in place," Hitchcock said. "A big part of that is managing the puck. It's trusting when you give it up that if you do the right things you are going to get it back. All those things that matter in a game, we see it in practice consistently and then see flashes of it in the game. Now, we've got to turn the flashes into consistency."
Friday's game is the front end of a back-to-back for the Stars who will play at St. Louis on Saturday.
Injuries:None
