The Dallas Stars are off to a hot start to the 2024-25 season and it wouldn't shock anyone to see them atop the Western Conference standings in April. In their first game of the new year, the Stars defeated the Nashville Predators 4-3.
They then headed into a back-to-back at home on Saturday and Sunday against the New York Islanders and Seattle Kraken, respectively. During Saturday's game, the Stars, who were led by Tyler Seguin's two-goal performance and a 34-save shutout from Jake Oettinger, defeated the Islanders 3-0.
Before puck drop yesterday, the Stars turned to former Vancouver Canucks netminder Casey DeSmith to make his Dallas debut and he did not disappoint against a Seattle Kraken team that made some big additions in the summer by signing Brandon Montour and Chandler Stephenson.
DeSmith was lights out, stopping all 25 shots he faced to give the Dallas Stars not only back-to-back wins, but back-to-back shutouts. For his effort, Dallas named Casey DeSmith first star of the game.
In the win, Casey DeSmith became just the third goaltender in Dallas Stars history to record a shutout in their debut. Oettinger and DeSmith also became the first tandem in franchise history to record shutouts on back-to-back nights.
By signing Casey DeSmith to a three-year pact as a free agent in July, it gives the Dallas Stars some stability in the crease for their backup role after Scott Wedgewood left for Nashville in the offseason.
It's great to see Casey DeSmith enjoying some success early on in his tenure with the Dallas Stars, but with the Canucks current goaltending situation and with Thatcher Demko's timeline to return unclear, some believe that Patrik Allvin should have brought back the 33-year-old Rochester, New Hampshire native.
DeSmith will make his return to Vancouver on Sunday, March 9th and given that it'll be the second-half of a back-to-back for the Dallas Stars, there's a pretty good chance we could see him get the start at Rogers Arena.
POLL | ||
Do you think the Canucks should have re-signed Casey DeSmith? | ||
Yes | 99 | 32.9 % |
No, it was time to turn to Arturs Silovs | 202 | 67.1 % |
List of polls |