"You can feel the excitement when you come here, a lot of Ontario guys, a lot of connections here," Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. "I love coaching here. It's my home province. You never have to pump the guys up to play- they're ready to go."
Ty Dellandrea, Tyler Seguin, Scott Wedgewood, Mason Marchment, Joel Hanley and Colin Miller will be back in their home province and should have some friends and family. Wedgewood is getting the start in goal and should have tons of people cheering for him.
19-year-old Wyatt Johnston getting to play in the arena of his "childhood" heroes, as he was born in Toronto and is a lifelong Leafs fan.
And Robertson will be playing against his brother Nick. The two grew up in California, Ontario and Michigan, and both played in the Ontario Hockey League. They have lots of friends who should be in attendance.
Wedgewood has a nice story as he has battled through the minors and NHL, and finally has a full-time job as backup goalie on the Stars. He just turned 30, and being able to celebrate his future with friends and family will be nice for one night.
DeBoer said he wants to keep Wedgewood in the rotation, but that starting in Toronto is also a nice boost.
"We need to get him in. When we were planning out the season, we wanted to make sure we got him in every two or three games, and this already four," DeBoer said. "With the way Otter is playing, you could make a case that he could play every night, but it's a long season, and Wedgy is going to be a big part of this going forward. Hometown…he's excited to play. It's the right time to do it."
For Johnston, there is probably never a perfect time to deal with this kind of emotion, but he has shown the ability to manage himself in stressful situations.
"It'll be a really cool experience playing here," he said. "I don't know if it will feel real to me. A lot of this doesn't really feel real to me. It's pretty crazy."
Johnston already has gone through training camp and played games both on the road and at home, and he's ready for the next challenge.
"He's been through those jitters, making the roster, his first game and then his first home game," DeBoer said. "He's shown a real unflappability to some of the stuff we've thrown at him so far, so this is just another one of those first for him in a long career."
Johnston had Maple Leafs stuff in his room when he was growing up but has since gotten rid of it. Still, playing in Toronto will be big, and he'll share that excitement with his teammates.
"It's a hometown game for a lot of guys," he said. "A lot of guys will have friends and family in the building, so it will be extra special for a good number of us."
Key Numbers
34
Tyler Seguin has 34 points (16 goals, 18 assists) in 32 career games against Toronto.
24.0
It's a small sample size, but Toronto has allowed the second-lowest average of shots on goal per game to start the season at 24.0. Dallas has taken an average of 26.7 per game, which ranks 28th.
29.5
Toronto ranks sixth in hits per game at 29.5. Dallas ranks 26th at 18.3.
He said it
"We made that shift last game, and it gave that group a little bit of a bump. We're interchangeable in how we play, so I don't think it's a big deal. Two good faceoff men in Glendening and Faksa, so not a major switch, but definitely a tweak."
-Stars coach Pete DeBoer on moving Radek Faksa to the wing and Luke Glendening to center on the fourth line.
Expected lineup
Robertson-Hintz-Pavelski
Marchment-Seguin-Dellandrea
Benn- Johnston-Gurianov
Faksa-Glendening-JKiviranta
Heiskanen-Miller
Lindell-Lundkvist
Suter-Hakanpaa
Wedgewood
Oettinger
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heikais a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika.
