Game Preview: Stars Return To Play Against Red-Hot Panthers

After 17 days, it is finally a Dallas Stars game day again. Following the COVID pause and Holiday break, the Stars face off against one of the hottest teams in the NHL, the Florida Panthers, at American Airlines Center Thursday.

Through the pause, Dallas saw 11 players enter the league’s COVID protocol, forcing the team to practice with minimal bodies and face challenges they have not faced since the beginning of the 2020-21 season.

"Listen, we've got some tough challenges with us, we're seven games behind, but 17 days between games is going to do that to you," Stars head coach Rick Bowess said. "The division is playing so well and it's nice to say we've got the games in hand, but it is on us to win them. We've got a lot of hockey to make up because we've got to make those games up, but let's embrace that challenge. Let's not be afraid of it, let's embrace it, and let's go for it."

The Stars will need to show up on Thursday as they face a red-hot Panthers team that has already gotten three games under their belt since Christmas. The high-flying Panthers are 22-7-4, battling for the top spot in the Atlantic Division, and have scored a league-high 128 goals on the season. On the flip side, Dallas ranks near the top of the league with only 85 goals allowed this season, so it is certainly set up to be an intriguing battle.

"They'll have three games before we play them," Bowness said after practice Tuesday. "They're in game shape, they're in game flow, so they're on top of their game and we need some time to find out where we are. Hopefully on Thursday, we're on top of our game and we're skating and managing the puck and we're doing all the things we did well against Chicago and Minnesota."

The Stars’ toughest challenge heading into tonight will be weathering the early storm and finding their legs. Not playing a game in over two weeks will certainly affect their conditioning and they will need to work to get back up to game speed in every aspect. The best approach to this is to keep things as simple as possible until they can find their team and individual game.

"The simpler the better," Raffl said. "If you simplify the game, you minimize turnovers, you minimize chances against. We should be in very good shape and well-rested, so there shouldn't be any excuses."

While things have been hectic between players working out in isolation at home, practices with 10 bodies, and coaches trying everything they can to prepare for the eventual return to play, the team believes that past experiences should help and that they are ready to go.

"We've done everything we can," Bowness said. "There's no substitute for playing games. It's been 17 days, and it's going to be noticeable. There's no question the first period could be a struggle. Hopefully, it's not. All I can tell you is that we've done everything we can, and the players have done what they can to keep the conditioning where it was before. But we're going to be playing a very fast team, very good on the rush, and we're going to have to have our legs underneath us."

Braden Holtby will be in the net tonight and Dallas will roll out a very similar lineup to what we saw before the pause.

It will be a steep hill to climb as the Stars sit sixth in the Central Division. But with 53 games still left to play, they are going to take it one game at a time. For now, it is all about Thursday night against the Panthers.

“I am pretty impatient here, said captain Jamie Benn. “Personally, I am ready to play.”