The Dallas Stars are trying to finish their road trip on a high note Thursday night in Columbus, and the timing makes this one feel a little bigger than a regular-season stop. Dallas is coming off wins over the Washington Capitals and the Blue Jackets, while Columbus has answered its loss in Texas with a statement of its own.
That response came in loud fashion. After drawing a matchup with a heavily favoured Colorado Avalanche team, the Blue Jackets stunned the reigning Presidents' Trophy winners with a 7-2 win. It was the kind of result that turns heads, and it gives Columbus plenty of confidence heading into the rematch with Dallas.
The Stars already handled the Jackets once this past Saturday on home ice, but this meeting brings a different challenge. Columbus has won three of the last four games between the teams, and the Blue Jackets have also had success in their own building, taking five of the last eight matchups against Dallas in the Arch City.
For the Stars, this is the final game before they head back home for a four-game homestand. They have a chance to leave the road on a positive note, but they’ll need a sharp, complete effort to do it against a Columbus team that has shown it can swing hard when it gets rolling.
Dallas’ expected lines for Thursday are listed as Jami Robertson, Roope Hintz and Tyler Seguin on the top unit, followed by Sam Steel, Wyatt Johnston and Mikko Rantanen. The third line features Oskar Kiviranta, Mavrik Hyry and Jamie Benn, with Colin Blackwell, Artem Shyckowian and Cameron Seminoff on the fourth line.
On defense, the pairings are Thomas Harley with Miro Heiskanen, Lian Bichsel with Nils Lundkvist, and Alex Petrovic with Colin Myers. Jake Oettinger is expected in goal.
In Other News...
Stars Showed Progress In A Brutal Loss Now Comes The Hard Part
The Stars left Columbus with a point and a reminder of how thin the margin can be when a game is in hand late. Dallas carried a 1-0 lead into the closing minutes before the Blue Jackets tied it, then pushed the game through overtime and into a shootout, where the Stars came up short in a 2-1 loss. Even so, there was some encouragement in how the team defended for long stretches, with key players and the coach pointing to the overall structure as something they can build on.
Now comes the harder part for Dallas, which is turning those flashes into something steadier from night to night. The message coming out of the game was less about one bad bounce than about the need for consistency, especially after the Stars showed they can control a game defensively and still leave without the result they wanted. For a team trying to stack points, the lesson is simple enough, but the execution is what will matter next. [Read more 🡒]
Former Stars Prospect Suddenly Resurfaces In An Unexpected AHL Move
A familiar name has popped back onto the radar in the AHL, and it comes with a bit of a Stars connection attached. The Hamilton Hammers, the New York Islanders affiliate, signed forward Robby Fabbri to a professional tryout contract, giving the veteran a chance to work his way into a new opportunity after opening the 2026-27 season without a deal.
Fabbri brings a long NHL rsum, including 463 regular-season games and a Stanley Cup ring, so this is not a flyer on an unknown commodity. Hamilton also added forward Antonio Stranges on a PTO, another move that gives the club some extra depth while offering a former Stars prospect a fresh path to get back into the mix. [Read more 🡒]
Stars Face A Tough Blue Line Test Without Miro Heiskanen
Miro Heiskanens absence has already forced the Stars to adjust once, and the same question is hanging over the blue line again as they prepare for San Jose. The Dallas defenseman is listed as doubtful because of an upper-body injury, leaving the club to keep sorting out its pairings without one of its most reliable minutes-eaters.
Thomas Harley and Nils Lundkvist handled the top-pair workload in Heiskanens place last game, a reminder of how quickly the Stars can be pushed into a different look when one key defender is unavailable. Around the league, other teams are getting healthier, with John Tavares nearing a return for Toronto and the Foligno brothers trending back for Minnesota, but Dallas is still waiting to see how long this particular blue-line test will last. [Read more 🡒]