The Nashville Predators and Dallas Stars have become one of the more underrated rivalries in the NHL, and they open the 2024-25 regulars season on Thursday night at Bridgestone Arena.
Just looking back at last season, these two teams split their series 2-2 with the Stars holding in the edge in the scoring margin at 18-14. The glaring loss was the 9-2 debacle in February, which then spring boarded the 18-game point streak.
While the Predators have gone through a lot of roster changes at the top with Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei, the Stars kind of kept the status quo intact and didn't add much.
The Stars are highly regarded as a Stanley Cup contender right behind the Edmonton OIlers in the Western Conference, so this will be a big statement game to open the season for the Predators. Here's the x-factors to watch.
How quick can the Predators work out the kinks and find chemistry?
The core of the Stars have been together for a while now. You look at the veterans like Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin, while also having returning young superstars such as Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz and Miro Heiskanen.
As for the Predators, it's going to be fully understandable if this team takes a bit to gel, and that's no easy when you're facing a formidable opponent like the Stars right out of the gate. But it will also be a great test to see if they're up to the task.
It's going to be really telling to see how the Predators look on the power play against the Stars. There might not be many chances to begin with because the Stars are a pretty disciplined team as it is, but when the Predators do get chances, can they live up to the hype of being an improved power play team with Stamkos and Marchessault in the mix.
The Stars were top-10 on the penalty kill last season while averaging the fewest penalty minutes taken per game at just 6:45.
Can Wedgewood get revenge on his former team?
After what's been a less-than-stellar and actually downright atrocious preseason, Scott Wedgewood is getting the starter's crease against his former club.
Juuse Saros is dealing with a lower-body injury that is said to not be that serious, but it's forcing him to miss the season-opener against the Stars. That is a major swing in win probability towards the favor of the Stars in this one.
Wedgewood has posted save percentages in the 70's in all three of his preseason showings and hasn't looked comfortable at all. Some of that is probably just rust that he'll shake off as the season progresses, but this has the potential to get ugly fast if he's not at least a little better that what he's shown in the preseason.
Quite frankly, he can't get much worse. The Stars, as mentioned in the previous x-factor, have been together for a while and are a high discipline team. They can structure their offensive attack to beat the best goaltenders on the planet, so Wedgewood is going to need a gem tonight more than likely.
Will the Preds win a track meet style game?
It's not all lost hope if Wedgewood gets blasted for a few goals early on. The Predators loaded their roster up with much more offensive firepower, so they'll have the potential to win the high-scoring games.
The difference is, the Predators are going up against Jake Oettinger who is always capable of putting up a brick wall and not letting anything get past him no matter how in sync you are as an offense.
This is why the Predators are going to have to be in a groove as an offense and find ways to get high danger chances peppering Oettinger constantly. And of course, make them pay when you get the power play chances, which might not be too many.
With Saros out tonight, I can see the Predators needing four or five goals to get this win. I don't see Wedgewood being good enough to keep the score low and steal this one. The Predators are going to have to pile up the goals and keep up.
Score Prediction: Stars 5, Predators 3
I can see this game getting out of reach early with the Stars jumping on Wedgewood for a couple goals early on, and then the Predators will try to make the valiant comeback. They'll come up just short, but show some positive signs.
This is just a heavyweight opponent to open with, and losing Saros is a gut punch.