Doubts in Dallas as Season Starts

As the Dallas Stars enter the season, there are some question marks about their health that they need to solve. Tyler Seguin is the biggest question of all, and his status may be key to the type of respect the Stars get in NHL betting.

Damaged Goods?

Seguin came up lame with a heel injury while preparing for the World Cup of Hockey and ended up missing the entire preseason. He's been in recent practice sessions and is expected to get at least some time in the Stars opener at home against Anaheim on Thursday. But this was the third injury he had suffered over the summer, and Stars fans are worried that he may be damaged goods this year. After all, he missed the postseason in the Stars failed run at the Western Conference title last year. His status will be crucial, because he was a key cog in the three-pronged attack the Stars put forth last year, along with Jamie Benn and Jason Spezza. And he's not the only injury problem the Stars face as the season begins. Forwards Mattais Janmark, Cody Eakin and Ales Hemsky are also missing time with injury.

On the positive side, the Stars do have depth to help them over this hump. They displayed some of that in a 4-3-0 pre-season. And they have hope that goalie Antti Niemi will perform as well in his second season.

NHL Betting on Dallas

I would have to see Seguin back, healthy and on par with his point-per-game performance of last season before expecting them to have the type of 27-7-3 start they did last year. They open at home Thursday vs. Anaheim, then travel for testy games at Colorado and Nashville before returning home against Los Angeles. If they can get through October with a winning record, the Stars should be home free for a while. But don't look for them to get off to the fire-breathing run of last year. In fact, there may be good offerings to go against the Stars in NHL betting to open the season. Otherwise, put the Stars on watch until things settle a bit.