Happy homecoming: Stars ready to take next step in 'redemption year'

It has been a strange trip, indeed.
The Stars last season saw the NHL shut down in March because of COVID-19 concerns, were part of the restart for the playoffs, and eventually advanced to the Stanley Cup Final, losing to Tampa Bay in six games. They came back for the shortened 2020-21 NHL season in January, and promptly had a virus outbreak that forced them to postpone the first four games of their season and also sidelined 17 players for some form of quarantine.
Now, they will jump into their season opener Friday at home against the Nashville Predators (2-1-0) with the hope of finding some normalcy. On one hand, they are in an awkward place. On the other, coach Rick Bowness is just happy to have a real game on the schedule again.

"Just getting into the emotions of the game will be good," Bowness said. "It's going to be a very tough match. They've played their three and we need to get our legs under us."

No NHL teams were allowed preseason games this year, so the Stars have not seen an opponent. They have been trying to get some scrimmage action in, but they have rarely had a full lineup because of problems caused by injuries or illness. They will be missing Blake Comeau (injury) for the season opener and possibly John Klingberg, who was not at practice Wednesday. They already will be without Tyler Seguin, Ben Bishop and Stephen Johns, who are out with long-term injuries.
On the good side, they have one of the few NHL arenas which will allow fans in the building, and expect a crowd of 5,000 people at American Airlines Center. They also will be raising their banner for the Western Conference championship, their first since 2000. The Stars played all of their playoff games in the Edmonton bubble in front of no fans and last had a game at the AAC was March 10 against the Rangers, so this really is a homecoming.
"We're excited to have our first game be here at home in this building," said center Joe Pavelski, who was announced Wednesday as one of the team's four alternate captains. "To go through a whole playoff run in the bubble with no fans, there is a sense of disconnect. We talked to people back here and we know in the city how much excitement was going on. We knew we had Dallas behind us, and we played for that."
On Friday, the fans and players might be able to bond over what was missed. At the very least, there will be some excitement caused by the playoff run. Dallas beat Calgary (six games), Colorado (seven games) and Vegas (five games) to get to the Final. They went 6-1 in overtime games and created some new heroes and great memories. That journey - and the final defeat - will provide immense motivation.

"First of all, the opposition is well aware of our season last year. They know we won the Western Conference, they know we went to the Stanley Cup Final. That automatically gets the opposition's attention," Bowness said. "What we need to get to is to replicate the emotion and the passion that we played with. That's the challenge for any coach or team that went to the Finals and lost. We've talked a lot about it, and hopefully we've addressed it enough."
Stars captain Jamie Benn said getting over the loss has been hard. Winger Andrew Cogliano said it was the toughest challenge in his career. Still, everyone also can look at the run as a stepping stone to something bigger.
"I think it's just going to be a redemption year for us," Klingberg said. "We're right there, and we put a lot of pressure on us as a team to be that successful and be a team that's always going to battle for the Stanley Cup."
Bowness was asked on his Wednesday Zoom call if there is a balance between getting fired up for the first game of the season and trying to stay calm in the first real competition, and he said he'll take energy over serenity.

"Listen, we're all ready for a game," he said. "We're ready to play an opponent other than our own teammates. We want that excitement, we want that adrenalin going tomorrow night early, and then we'll manage it from there."
As coaches and players have learned during this strange trip, you have to be able to adjust to anything.
"Every year is a little different and this is another new scenario," Pavelski said. "You start four games behind, some other teams already have points in the bank, you're not going to be able to make those games up until later. You try to stay focused and not look too far ahead, because there is one job that has to be done.
"Nobody is worried about us or our situation, so we have to be able to handle ourselves."

Regular season opener: Stars vs. Predators

Friday, 7:30 p.m. CT
Where:American Airlines Center
TV:FOX Sports Southwest PLUS, ESPN+
Radio: The Ticket 96.7-FM, 1310-AM
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.