Stars begin regular season against Predators

Stars (0-0-0, 0 points) vs. Nashville Predators (2-0-0, 4 points)

NASHVILLE --The Pete DeBoer era starts Thursday in Nashville, and there is a lot to be uncovered.
The veteran head coach was hired in the summer and has been installing his style of play throughout training camp. Now it's time to see just what the Stars look like when it counts.
"I'm excited, I think everyone is excited," DeBoer said after morning skate at Bridgestone Arena. "You have a long summer, and training camp and exhibition get old. This is what guys prepare for. There's a little nervous energy, but guys are excited to play."
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In addition to welcoming several new faces like free agent forward Mason Marchment, trade acquisition Nils Lundkvist and 19-year-old rookie Wyatt Johnston, the Stars also will see if veteran players look differently under DeBoer and his coaching staff. Dallas returns a significant number of key players, including Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, Miro Heiskanen, Esa Lindell and the top line of Roope Hintz, Joe Pavelski and Jason Robertson. That's a solid group, and the expectations will be high.
"This is the first step in trying to build this," DeBoer said. "It's not going to be everything we want on day one, and we can't overreact to that, but it's the first chance to start setting some building blocks on the foundation."
While the coaching staff has left the top line in place, the second line features Marchment and Ty Dellandrea. The third line, then, has Benn with Johnston and Denis Gurianov, and the fourth line has Radek Faksa with Joel Kiviranta and Luke Glendening. It might be as deep as the forward group has been in recent years.
On defense, the biggest change will be the absence of John Klingberg, who signed with Anaheim in free agency, and how that might affect Miro Heiskanen. 23-year-old Heiskanen is expected to see an increase in time on ice and is switching from the right side to the left.
DeBoer said things could change with left-handed Heiskanen, but the team has three lefties and three righties in the lineup, so he wants to allow them to play their natural side.
Heiskanen played with Ryan Suter for much of last season but will start with Colin Miller on Thursday.
"We want to see how it looks," DeBoer said.
Much focus will be on Johnston as he becomes just the fifth teenager to play for the Stars since they moved to Dallas in 1993. The MVP of the Ontario Hockey League looked good in preseason and now has a chance to show what he can do in a real NHL game. He will have his parents, his girlfriend and his billet parents in attendance.
"Enjoy it," DeBoer said when asked his advice for Johnston. "You only get to play your first game once. He belongs here, he earned the right to be here. I'm excited for him, it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience."
Key Numbers
96
Nashville defenseman Roma Josi led all NHL defensemen in scoring last season with 96 points (23 goals, 73 assists). His previous best was 65 points in 2019-20.
29.7
Nashville ranked 24th in shots on goal last season with an average of 29.7 shots per game.
15
Stars center Roope Hintz has 15 points (6 goals, 9 assists) in 17 career games against Nashville.
He said it
"Robo was telling me that it's a pretty heated game when we play Nashville, and I like to play in those games, so it'll be fun. Get a big hit in, get on the forecheck, and figure it from there." - New Stars forward Mason Marchment on advice he got from teammate Jason Robertson about playing Nashville.
Expected lineup
Robertson-Hintz-Pavelski
Marchment-Seguin-Dellandrea
Benn-Johnston-Gurianov
Kiviranta-Faksa-Glendening
Heiskanen-Miller
Lindell-Lundkvist
Suter- Hakanpaa
Oettinger
Wedgewood
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.