After being the better team for two periods on Thursday night against the Chicago Blackhawks, a game which ended in a 3-2 shootout loss, the Dallas Stars now head to the Music City for their second game of the season, a Saturday night date against another Central Division rival, the Nashville Predators, at Bridgestone Arena.
"I think it's great for a team with some new faces to get out on the road-everyone going out for a bite to eat, getting on the plane together, just getting to know everyone a little bit more," Stars defenseman Brenden Dillon said after practice on Friday. "I think you can bond as a team that way. Getting used to playing on the road and that atmosphere is going to be good."
Nashville (1-0-0, 2 points) opened the season at home on Thursday with a come-from-behind 3-2 win against the Ottawa Senators. The Predators trailed 1-0 after two periods but erupted for three goals in the final period, the first of which was scored by ex-Star Eric Nystrom, with the game-winner coming from Craig Smith as the Preds were on the power play.
It was a nice way to kick off the Peter Laviolette era in Nashville. Laviolette, formerly the head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers, New York Islanders and Carolina Hurricanes, was hired this summer to replace Barry Trotz behind the bench, the only coach the Predator franchise had ever known.
And after winning his debut, he was understandably pleased to start his tenure with the Preds on a positive note.
"There were some of those chances that we gave up-we had to chase down a couple odd man rushes," Laviolette told the Predators' official website after practice on Friday. "We could've made a better decision with our high forward but we're working on that. There weren't that many times it happened, but when it did, those are quality chances that we can't give up. Overall though, I'm positive about the night."
Second-year Stars head coach Lindy Ruff knows Laviolette well from having coached against him countless times during his long run in the Eastern Conference with the Buffalo Sabres, and he sees several differences in this year's Predators compared to how they played the past few seasons.
"I think there's been a lot of talk about offensively, trying to be a better team and playing a higher-tempo game," Ruff said. "I've been around Peter a lot. I know that he pushes the pace when it comes to playing the offensive side of it and I think we're going to see a little bit more of that."
Nashville is also a team that features several names familiar to Stars fans. Besides Nystrom, both James Neal and Mike Ribeiro also now play for the Predators.
Neal, who is skating on Nashville's top line alongside Gabriel Bourque and Ribeiro, came to the Music City this summer in a trade that sent Patric Hornqvist to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Ribeiro signed a one-year contract with the Preds over the summer after the Phoenix Coyotes bought out the final three years of his four-year contract.
Like his coaching colleague behind the opposing bench, Ruff saw a lot to like about his team's performance in their season opener. Of course, he also saw several areas he'd like to see marked improvement in going forward.
"Again, our special teams got to be better. My words were they were OK. We got a power-play goal, we had a big kill but we gave up a goal on the kill that allowed them to tie it," Ruff said.
And the Stars' penalty kill and power play will definitely need to be at the top of their respective games if Dallas is to leave Nashville with any points on Saturday evening.
"Nashville's got a big guy in the back end (Shea Weber) that bombs it back there. It's been one of their fortes and it's going to be a focus for us," Ruff said. "Last year we went in there and it was a power play late in the first period of a game we were dominating where they took over. We know what they can present when it comes to special teams."
