Stars looking forward to early-season test against Jets

With a 3-0 win over the Arizona Coyotes in Thursday's season opener behind them, the Dallas Stars move on to Game 2 of the season, and it will be a stiff test. The Winnipeg Jets are in town to take on the Stars tonight at American Airlines Center.
The Jets are one of the top teams in the league, a Stanley Cup contender, and a team that has had the Stars' number the past two seasons.
"Going into that first game we were focused on Arizona, and we got that job done," said Stars forward Devin Shore. "We don't look at the Jets until they are next on the plate and Game 2 of 82, they are a good matchup for us -- a real good test to see what we are made of against one of the best teams in the league."

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"The best test we could have for sure," said Stars defenseman John Klingberg. "We know we've struggled against Winnipeg the past two years. It's going to be fun to play against them right away. We are a different team from the past two years as well. It's going to be a lot of fun to play that game. It's going to be exciting."

The Jets won all four games against the Stars last season by a combined score of 18-8. Over the past two seasons, the Jets are 8-1-0 against the Stars and have outscored them 41-19.
"It's been a little bit of everything," Shore said of the Stars' struggles against the Jets. "There were some breakdowns. They have some serious offensive weapons over there. If you give them too much time and space, they are going to make you pay. It's just taking away time and space because they can shoot the puck and make plays."
Saturday's game against the Jets also will be an opportunity to get off to a good start within the Central Division, which is expected to be highly competitive this season. Points within the division will be important as the teams battle for position and to get into the playoffs.
"Everyone talks about how competitive our division is, so divisional points are big," said Shore. "Defending home ice is big. At the same time, this league is so good because there really is a ton of parity. It sounds like a broken record but it is true, so you have to make sure you bring your best every night, because if you don't, the team on the other side is going to make you pay almost every time."

Morning skate notes

Opposition watch: Winnipeg Jets

The Jets (1-0-0) opened the season with a 5-1 win at St. Louis on Thursday. Connor Hellebuyck stopped 41 shots, and the Jets blew the game open with three goals in a 1:44 span of the third period. Winnipeg's top line of Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele, and Blake Wheeler combined for six points (two goals, four assists).
The Jets, who advanced to the Western Conference Final last season, are considered one of the league's top teams coming into this season. They look a lot like last season's team, but they did lose center Paul Stastny, who departed via free agency and signed with Vegas. Forward Joel Armia and defenseman Toby Enstrom are also gone.
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But the Jets have a deep prospect pool and center Jack Roslovic is expected to play a bigger role and Kristian Vesalainen, the Jets' first-round pick in 2017, has made the roster and picked up an assist in his NHL debut Thursday.
The Jets will roll with the same lineup they used in Thursday's win over St. Louis, including Hellebuyck getting the start in goal.

By the numbers

Tonight's game

Who:Winnipeg Jets at Dallas Stars
Where:American Airlines Center
When:6 p.m.
TV:Fox Sports Southwest
Radio:The Ticket 1310-AM/96.7-FM

Stars projected lineup

Jamie Benn - Tyler Seguin - Alexander Radulov
Mattias Janmark - Jason Spezza - Blake Comeau
Devin Shore - Radek Faksa - Tyler Pitlick
Jason Dickinson - Roope Hintz - Brett Ritchie
Esa Lindell - John Klingberg
Marc Methot - Miro Heiskanen
Connor Carrick - Roman Polak
Ben Bishop
Anton Khudobin
Scratched:Julius Honka, Gemel Smith
Injured:Valeri Nichushkin (lower body), Stephen Johns (post-traumatic headaches), Martin Hanzal (back)

Jets projected lineup

Kyle Connor - Mark Scheifele - Blake Wheeler
Mathieu Perreault - Bryan Little - Patrik Laine
Andrew Copp - Adam Lowry - Brandon Tanev
Kristian Vesalainen - Jack Roslovic - Nikolaj Ehlers
Josh Morrissey - Jacob Trouba
Ben Chiarot - Dustin Byfuglien
Joe Morrow - Tyler Myers
Connor Hellebuyck
Laurent Brossoit
Scratched: Marko Dano, Dmitry Kulikov, Brendan Lemieux
Injured:None
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mark Stepneski has covered the Stars for DallasStars.com since 2012. Follow him on Twitter @StarsInsideEdge.