The Dallas Stars host the Calgary Flames in the final game of a five-game homestand at the American Airlines Center on Friday night.
The Stars lead the Central Division after the season’s first 18 games and have the fifth-best record in the NHL, thanks to increased depth throughout its roster.
“That’s what good teams have,” head coach Pete DeBoer told the media before Wednesday’s loss to Vegas. “You’re not relying on one group to have to score every night for you to have to win, and we have that kind of depth this year.”
That depth has been tested this season, as five players have combined to miss 10 games. However, after shuffling the lineup during Wednesday’s game, DeBoer is sticking with the changes on Friday.
“I liked how we finished the game,” he said Friday morning. “I liked our second and third period after we flipped some things around. I’m not sure the changes are necessarily the reason for that, but it definitely looked and felt better, and we fixed some parts of our game, too. We’re going to go with the same way we ended.”
After reaching the Western Conference Finals last season, Dallas’ goal has been to return to the Stanley Cup Final and win its second championship. The added depth was a primary goal for the team in the offseason, as injuries piled up in the final playoff series, but it may come with less playing time for some.
Yet DeBoer believes that may be a good thing for the team.
“Less ice time doesn’t have to mean less production,” he explained. “I think you can do more with the minutes — more quality and less quantity.”
The decisions on who makes the lineup each night have been challenging, which DeBoer describes as a “good problem to have.” Players will be in and out of the lineup due to several factors, but they are all willing to do what it takes to have a successful season.
“This group, a lot of them are at a stage in their career where they just want to win,” DeBoer acknowledged. “They want to win a Cup, and they’re open to embracing anything that you think will help them get there.”
American Thanksgiving has long been a significant indicator of a team’s playoff odds, and Dallas entered the break in a prime playoff position. Over the last 18 seasons, 76.7% of the teams holding a playoff spot on Thanksgiving have qualified for the postseason. However, Dallas is being careful not to read too much into the early standings.
“It’s a great story, and I know the analytics show all that, but there’s so many things that go into a season,” DeBoer told the media on Wednesday. “… There’s all kinds of things that can happen over the next long road ahead of us before they decide playoff seeding and spots.”
Dallas is 2-1-1 through the first four games of its homestand, beating Arizona and the New York Rangers but losing to Colorado in regulation and to Vegas in overtime. After Friday’s game, the Stars will play five of their next six games on the road, increasing the importance of finishing the homestand with a win.
“That’s what we’re going to have to look to do,” forward Jason Robertson told the media on Friday. “… We’ve been a pretty good road team all year, but we’ve got to finish it up at home.”
The Stars (12-4-2) and Flames (7-9-3) will drop the puck at 7:30 p.m. CT.
