Well, tonight is a massive night for the Dallas Stars folks. They look to vindicate themselves of being Stanley Cup frauds against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers tonight. It will be the last time that the Stars see them during the regular season. It would be so awesome to see the Stars bulldoze them over in front of 18,000 faithful fans tonight. However, it’s going to be a massive challenge for the Stars to complete over three periods.

Paul Maurice has done a fantastic job of leading the Panthers to back-to-back Stanley Cup titles. It’s tough to do that when the Stanley Cup Playoffs can be such a wildcard in some seasons. The Stars have to lock in and play hockey over the course of three periods. They can’t just run up the score in the first period and call it a night. Brad Marchand is one of those players who can get the Panthers back into the game. Here are the four keys to tonight’s contest against the Florida Panthers.

Dallas Stars vs. Florida Panthers Preview: 4. Don’t be afraid to check

The Stars have to show their true physical power tonight to beat the Panthers. That means everyone on the Stars has to be ready to throw their bodies into the boards to disrupt the Panthers’ offense in the Stars’ zone. That means even laying out Marchand with a massive check into the boards. He knows what he signed up for before playing in the NHL. I want to see the Stars throw their bodies around and come away with two points and a win at home tonight.

Dallas Stars vs. Florida Panthers Preview: 3. Get Jason Robertson going

I’m sure Jason Robertson wished he had scored more goals in front of Bill Guerin on Thursday night. However, tonight is a new night to show Guerin that he deserves to be a part of Team USA at the Winter Olympics in February. The Stars have to do their best job of setting up Robertson to score the puck tonight. That means giving him more shifts than usual to get the job done tonight. It’s time for Thanosto to claim his rightful roster spot on Team USA tonight.

Dallas Stars vs. Florida Panthers Preview: 2. Shut down the Rat

The Stars need to shut down Brad Marchand from doing any damage tonight if they want to win the game. He is their leading scorer right now and was a difference-maker in the last match these two teams played. That means Thomas Harley and Miro Heiskanen have to do a good job of shadowing him in the Stars’ zone and preventing him from getting set up to score goals. You take down the rat, you earn two points, and you win on home ice tonight.

Dallas Stars vs. Florida Panthers Preview: 1. Vindicate your name

I am 100% tired of hearing hockey fans say that the Stars are Stanley Cup frauds. I know the Stars didn’t get over the hump the last three seasons with Pete DeBoer, but this team has a really good shot of competing for the Stanley Cup this season. A win against the Panthers tonight would go a long way to shut up all the people who say the Stars are Stanley Cup frauds. It’s time for the Stars to vindicate their name and beat the defending Stanley Cup Champions tonight.