DALLAS -- The Detroit Red Wings and Dallas Stars are no longer rivals in the Central Division, and with the Wings only visiting American Airlines Center once each season, games like Saturday's between the two rivals are extra special.
"They have the strongest following in the league," Stars center Shawn Horcoff said after practice on Friday. "It's a credit to how much success they've had for so long. Yeah, it is too bad (they're no longer in the West) because there were a lot of great series and when you lose a team of that quality to another conference, you're going to lose a little bit of that buzz. You've worked all those years to create it and it's just gone."
Detroit (32-14-10) is currently third in the Atlantic Division with 74 points and the Red Wings are an impressive 15-9-3 away from Joe Louis Arena this season.
Longtime Dallas defenseman Trevor Daley has played his share of games against the Wings, both as division rivals and over the past season and a half with them moving to the Eastern Conference.
But for the Stars' current longest-tenured player, it doesn't matter if they're still division rivals or not, every time Detroit visits, it is a must-watch.
"Yeah, the building's always alive, so it's a fun rivalry every time they come. Ever since I came into the league, they've always been the team to try to contend with. I know for me, it's always special," Daley said. "We haven't seen them much. We haven't seen them in a while, so it'll be fun."
Second-year Dallas general manager Jim Nill has a bit of a different perspective because he spent 16 years as an assistant GM with the Red Wings before being hired to be the Stars new GM nearly two years ago.
And even though he hasn't been in the Motor City for several years now, Nill admits seeing the Red Wings pay their lone visit of the season to Dallas is always a cool thing.
"No, it's great. I watch them all the time. I was there a long time. A lot of those kids or young guys playing are guys that we've drafted and helped to develop and stuff, so there's a special connection there," Nill said. "There are great people right from the organization from the ownership all the way down to the coaches and the players and stuff. There's a special bond there."
At least from the Dallas perspective, Nill has only seen how many Detroit fans pack the Dallas barn when they visit to face the Stars once before. But for someone who has seen them have more than their share of fans around the league, it's not really much of a surprise to see half the building in red, which may be the case again on Saturday night.
"No, the Red Wings, they travel well. Wherever they go, there's Red Wing fans and they've earned that. They've built that brand up and they continue to win," Nill said. "They've earned that respect, which is good."
The Stars (27-23-8) lost 5-2 to the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night, putting Dallas' home record at a quite pedestrian 12-12-6.
Saturday marks the end of a quick two-game homestand, after which the Stars will have just 24 games remaining in the regular season. And with Dallas on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoff picture in the Western Conference, this game appears crucial to say the least.
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