The Stars open their season Saturday night in Nashville with a backup goalie who looks anything but temporary and a matchup history that has leaned Dallas’ way for a while.
Casey DeSmith will get the start against the Predators at Bridgestone Arena at 7:00 p.m., with the game set for Prime Video and radio coverage on The Ticket 96.7-FM, 1310-AM. Dallas comes in at 0-1-0 after its opener, while Nashville is also 0-1-0. Both teams were 0-for-4 on the power play in their first game, though the Stars killed all four penalties they faced and the Predators went 3-for-4 on the penalty kill.
This is the first of four meetings between the Central Division rivals this season. Dallas swept all three matchups in the 2025-26 campaign, winning 3-0-0 and outscoring Nashville 11-8. The clubs will meet again Nov. 25 and March 27 in Dallas, then April 10 in Nashville.
The Stars have also handled the Predators well over a longer stretch. Dallas is 62-41-12 all-time against Nashville and 26-25-8 on the road. Since April 3, 2025, the Stars have gone 4-1-0 in the matchup, and they’ve won seven of their last eight in Nashville dating back to Oct. 13, 2022, while outscoring the Predators 32-21.
Wyatt Johnston and Mikko Rantanen both bring recent success into the game. Johnston has a three-game point streak against Nashville, with five points over that span (2-3-5), and he has 13 points (7-6-13) in 15 career games against the Predators. Rantanen has points in two straight against Nashville, collecting two in that stretch (1-1-2), and he owns 35 points (12-23-35) in 31 career games versus the Predators.
Jason Robertson remains one of Dallas’ biggest offensive drivers, and Nashville has seen plenty of that. Robertson led the Stars with 96 points (45-51-96) in 82 regular-season games last season, the second-highest scoring year of his career.
He finished in the NHL’s top 10 in goals, points, even-strength goals, power-play goals, power-play points, game-winning goals, shootout goals and shots. Since his rookie season in 2020-21, Robertson leads all Stars skaters in scoring, goals, power-play points and game-winning goals.
Against Nashville, he has 30 points (11-19-30) in 27 games and enters Saturday with six points (1-5-6) in his last five against the Predators.
On the other side, Roman Josi is off to another productive start for Nashville. He scored his first goal of the season Thursday night against Minnesota and has now registered a point in three consecutive season openers.
Josi led Predators defensemen with 55 points (13-42-55) in 68 games last season and enters the 2026-27 campaign as the franchise leader in games played, points, assists and power-play points. Against Dallas, he has 37 points (12-25-37) in 56 games, the most among active NHL defensemen versus the Stars.
DeSmith’s start comes after a strong preseason, and after signing a two-year extension earlier in the week that keeps him in Dallas through the 2028-29 season. The deal carries a $2.5 million AAV.
He went 15-8-6 last season and paired with Jake Oettinger to give the Stars one of the league’s steadier goaltending tandems. DeSmith posted a 2.43 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage, both better than Oettinger’s 2.59 and .899, and Dallas finished second overall in goals against.
“I think it’s huge, because if you’re not giving up goals, then you’re in every game,” said Stars coach Glen Gulutzan. “It’s a big part of who we are.”
DeSmith said the extension came together after he made it clear he wanted to remain in Dallas.
“It was something that I had talked to them about wanting to stay,” DeSmith said. “There's a lot to figure out from their perspective.
Then they finally reached out, and we were able to come to an agreement. It was something that came together really smoothly, which was good.”
Gulutzan and Oettinger both praised the signing. Gulutzan called it “a tremendous signing for us,” while Oettinger said: “He deserves it more than anyone.
He’s a great teammate, great friend and great goalie partner. I couldn’t be happier for him and pumped that we can keep it going for another three years.”
DeSmith said he isn’t worried about the workload split. His focus is on helping when called upon.
“I have no control over how many games I play,” he said. “I want to support Jake and win games for this team, but I don’t have much control.
So I just try to do my best when I’m in there. That’s the best mindset to have.
So I just try to be someone the team can depend on when I am in there.”
Gulutzan said that steady approach matters every day.
“He’s competitive. Not that competitive you see on the surface, but right under the surface.
It’s a slow burn,” Gulutzan said. “That helps in the situation he’s in, how he practices, how he gets fired up.
I’d say that’s his greatest attribute.”
One more wrinkle: Mavrik Bourque, traded from Dallas to Nashville in the summer, played 17:25 in his first game with the Predators. The 24-year-old had averaged 15:29 last season with the Stars and finished with 20 goals and 21 assists in 82 games.
Gulutzan also pointed to the grind of the schedule as his club prepares for back-to-back games.
“Well, it gets dangerous when you get into five nights in a row, with a back-to-back, three-in-four, with players. We built in a lot of tolerance early with the legs and stuff, but if you keep going too long, the groins and everything start to come into play.”
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