Oh, it’s good to be back home. Tonight the Stars return back to Dallas with confidence, after going 3-2-1 on this previous road trip. However, this isn’t going to be an easy homecoming. The Stars have to withstand the Norris Trophy-winning Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson. Then Saturday they face the best defensive team in Nashville boasting P.K. Subban and Roman Josi. And with Alexander Radulov still out, Monty is really going to have to do something to spark more offense.

Maybe one way they can find some offense pretty quickly is with the new call-up in Denis Gurianov. The Russian winger has 12 points in 11 games so far with the Texas Stars. And to make things more interesting, Monty has placed Gurianov on the second line with Benn and Spezza. This will only be Gurianov’s second game in the NHL and hopefully, he can prove that he deserved to be a first-round pick.

And of course, how can we mention this game without bringing up the Karlsson trade. In the summer, Dallas was one of the front-runners to acquire Karlsson from Ottawa but there was one major reason why Ottawa didn’t pull the trigger. They were pleased with Dallas’ offers but Ottawa wanted Miro Heiskanen. The kid was the difference in Dallas owning the world-class talent of Karlsson teaming up with fellow Swedish defenseman in John Klingberg. But after 15 games into the season, I don’t’ think Stars fans are upset about not accepting the trade. Heiskanen has been one of the Stars’ best defenders and is leading all rookie defenceman in time-on-ice.

This four-game homestand is just what the Stars need. They played well on the road trip and are in a good position right now. Over the past few years, Dallas has been on the of best home teams and although these next four games will be difficult, the Stars are a different team at home. When the AAC is rocking and the fans are on their feet, the Stars thrive off of that energy, better than most teams.