Tonight marks the first game of the season between the Dallas Stars and the Colorado Avalanche.

Here’s a few ideas of what’s likely to happen tonight:

1. Colorado will probably play some decent hockey. They’re no longer an absolute dumpster fire, they’re 4-1 on the season so far.
2. Matt Duchene is pretty good. He’s averaging a point a game so far, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he finishes the season north of 50 points.
3. Jared Bednar seems to be a smart choice in a new head coach. Last year was the culmination of a three-year decline, and I don’t think it’s a good measure of Bednar’s coaching abilities. His time in the AHL was a big success for the city of Cleveland, winning the Calder Cup for the Lake Erie Monsters, and he seems to be adjusting to the NHL very, very well.
4. Goals are coming from all over. Already, 5 Avalanche players have 2 or more goals after just five games. Yakupov, Duchene, and Rantanen are all sitting on five points, and Andrighetto has 6. There’s no one guy to shut down tonight.
5. Semyon Varlamov has retaken the starting job in goal after Calvin Pickard’s departure. His platoon mate, Jonathan Bernier, has looked above average, but he’s let in the same number of goals as Varlamov despite facing 34 fewer shots.

Meanwhile, in Stars Land, Ben Bishop has been a breath of fresh air in goal. The Stars no longer have to lean on Lehtonen constantly, and he’s making the anemic Antti Niemi look even worse than last season could.

Jason Spezza continues to be an absolute stud, John Klingberg is devouring his time on the ice, and Tyler Seguin is still lethal on the power play. And among the youths, Remi Elie, Esa Lindell, and Mattias Janmark are proving their worth already.

A few negatives though: Jamie Benn needs to wake the hell up, Devin Shore hasn’t shown much improvement, and Martin Hanzal is underwhelming. And Jamie Oleksiak, that dude needs to show something. He’s been unimpressive for the previous two seasons and hasn’t amounted to much of anything for Dallas yet. Get it together, my dude.

Puck drops tonight at 7 PM.