The first game of the season. The Stars didn't have a textbook preseason, so we shall see tonight whether they will learn from the preseason or not. Mainly, my concern right now for the Stars is if the feel they have worked out all the kinks. The Stars lost their last three games of the preseason. Columbus won there last two, scoring 5 goals in each of those games. Defense isn't a strong point for Columbus. In their last three games, Columbus gave up 12 goals (seven in last two).
Overall, Columbus went 4-4 in the preseason, scoring 28 goals and giving up 25. Dallas went 1-5-1 in the preseason, scoring only 17 goals and gave up 24. If the preseason is the measuring stick of how this game will go, Dallas could be in trouble. But, again, it is only preseason, so you can't really measure too much of what a team will or will not do.
Stars to Watch:
- Mike Ribeiro: 27 goals, 56 assists, 83 points (+/- of 21)
- Brendan Morrow: 32 goals, 42 assists, 74 points (+/- of 23)
- Mike Modano: 21 goals, 36 assists, 57 points (+/- of -11)
- Matt Niskanen: 7 goals, 19 assists, 26 points (+/- of 22)
- Marty Turco: 32-21 with a GAA of 2.31 (save% of .909)
Blue Jackets to Watch:
- Rick Nash: 38 goals, 31 assists, 69 points (+/- of 2)
- Jan Hejda: 13 assists (+/- of 20)
- Nikolia Zherdev: 26 goals, 35 assists, 61 points (+/- of -9)
- Rostislav Klesla: 6 goals, 12 assists, 18 points (+/- of 7)
- Pascal Leclaire: 24-17 with a GAA of 2.25 (save% of .919)
Forecast: Columbus has the better goalie, but they don't have the scoring to go with it, at least based on last season's numbers. Preseason says they might be a little better than what happened last year. Still, I think once the Stars start to gel, they will be tough to beat. Are they "gelling" for this game? No. Stars start the season 0-1 with a score of 4-2.
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