The Dallas Stars closed their last home preseason game with a 2-0 win over the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday night, and the biggest story may have been who wasn’t supposed to be in net.
Jake Oettinger was slated to start, but after he felt some lower-body tightness following the morning skate, Dallas held him out as a precaution. Rémi Poirier got the call instead and handled the full night, stopping all 24 shots he faced for a shutout.
Matthew Seminoff and Esa Lindell supplied the goals, and Kyle Capobianco had the setup on both. The Stars improved to 3-0 in the preseason and have allowed only two goals.
The result came against a Minnesota group that leaned heavily on its Iowa roster, with Jesper Wallstedt in the mix, so it’s worth keeping the temperature down a bit. Still, Dallas did what it needed to do, and it did it without giving much away defensively.
The penalty kill has been the cleanest part of this preseason so far. Dallas is 9-for-9 through three games, and the Wild never even got a shot attempt on either of its power plays Wednesday. The lone shot in those four minutes belonged to Seminoff, who raced the other way for a shorthanded chance and also put the Stars on the shot chart for the first time.
The power play, meanwhile, is still searching. Dallas is 0-for-13 in the preseason, a stretch that has covered 25 minutes and produced 19 shots on goal by the official sheets.
Wednesday’s first unit featured Miro Heiskanen, Jamie Benn, Sam Steel, Arttu Hyry and Michael Sgarbossa. That group got five looks, put four of them from 38 feet or farther, and used a 50-second five-on-three to generate just one attempt, which hit the post.
On Monday, the full first unit went 0-for-4 across eight minutes, with a post and a stop from five feet out. The issue is still the same: Dallas is working to create cleaner shot volume, and too often the possession is ending without much to show for it.
The faceoff numbers didn’t tell the full story either. Dallas lost the dot 16-29, with Radek Faksa going 5 of 14 and Arttu Hyry 4 of 11, but the Stars still split five-on-five shot attempts nearly evenly at 34 to 37.
Neither goal came straight off a faceoff win. Seminoff scored from 21 feet after a Capobianco touch, and Lindell scored from 27 after Artem Shlaine found Capobianco.
What did stand out was the turnover count. Dallas had 27 giveaways, including 12 in its own zone, and seven Wild five-on-five attempts came within 20 seconds of one.
The Stars also showed the 1-1-3 neutral-zone look Miro Heiskanen mentioned after Tuesday’s practice, and it did force Minnesota toward the boards and into mistakes. The shape makes sense on paper, but when turnovers happen that deep in the defensive zone, the risk is obvious.
If the puck gets loose at the point, the goalie is left exposed.
Capobianco and Trey Taylor both continued to make their cases on the back end. Capobianco followed up Saturday’s two minors with a night that included two primary assists, a drawn penalty and a 17-11 edge in shot attempts for Dallas while he was on the ice.
He also had four giveaways. Taylor played his third straight game alongside him, and Dallas held an 11-5 edge in shot attempts with Taylor out there.
He also took a high-sticking minor. Both have shown enough to stay in the conversation as depth options, even if both need to clean up the penalties that come with the physical play.
Neither is expected to make the opening-night roster. Dallas sits about $390,000 under the cap with 21 players and six defensemen, which points both of them toward Cedar Park to start the season.
The difference is in how easily the club can move them during the year. Taylor, 24 and in the final year of his entry-level deal, does not need waivers, so he can be sent down and recalled as needed.
Capobianco, 29 and on a two-year deal worth $875,000, has to clear waivers every time he goes to the minors, just as he did last September, and that means any of the other 31 teams can take him for nothing. A two-assist night with scouts watching only helps his case.
He is the more established NHL option, which makes him the likelier first call if injuries hit, but Taylor may be the easier player to shuttle without risk.
Dallas finishes the preseason Friday in St. Paul, where the lineup should look the closest yet to opening night. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. on TNT.
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