Keeping the Shine Bright

DALLAS STARS

2013-14 record: 40-31-11 (91 points)
Lost to Anaheim in Conference quarterfinals
Captain: Jamie Benn

A new look, a new coach, and new ownership were some of the things the Dallas Stars saw before their improbable playoff push last season.  Heading into this season, they won't be surprising anyone. To that end, they continued to strengthen the middle, acquiring Jason Spezza in a trade prior to the free agency period. They also added Ales Hemsky on the wing, which now gives the Stars three solid lines of offense. However, it will be the line of Antoine Roussel, Cody Eakin, and Ryan Garbutt that will prove vital to the team's hopes, as that line appointed for 47 goals and over 300 penalty minutes, with Roussel getting two-thirds of that total by himself. That line also allows the likes of Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn to play at their best.  The blue line remains unchanged, which concerns more than a handful of Stars fans, as the true game breaker is still not identified.  Kari Lehtonen played well when he was in the game, but it was when he wasn't that things got hairy for the Stars. In turn, that forced a lot of ice time for Lehtonen, and it will be up to either Anders Lindback or Jussi Rynnas to try and eat into Lehtonen's ice time.

Prediction: 5th in the Central Division

The Stats can hang with any team based on offense alone. However, standing pat on the blue line and gambling on a couple of unproven backup goalies to relieve some of the pressure from Lehtonen could prove harmful to the team's playoff chances this season.