Tuesday Dallas Stars Roundup: Remembrance Day, Tough Decisions, and the Ghosts of Ottawas Past

And a little chicken soup for the sole purpose of hydration

It feels like a long time since the Stars began their season in Winnipeg, where they held on to defeat the Jets by a 5-4 margin to kick off the 2025-26 campaign.

Things are a little different on the Stars’ second trip of the year to Canada, where they’ll face the Ottawa Senators tonight on Remembrance Day. That solemn day is observed even during the middle of a hockey practice, by the way: The Senators players on the rink at 11:00 this morning all paused for two minutes of silence, as per tradition.

Glen Gulutzan said today that he had to memorize “In Flanders Fields” as all young Canadians do, pointing to the importance of honoring the memory of those who lost their lives fighting for freedom. If you’ve seen any of the poppies being worn by coaches and broadcasters in recent days, they’re all in honor of Remembrance Day. It’s a big deal up here, as it should be.

November 11 is also Veterans Day in the USA, which was likewise a big deal for me growing up, with a father who served in the Army as well as multiple World War II veterans one generation further back in my family. In fact, one side of my family even boasts a Civil War veteran who met Abraham Lincoln after he (my relative, not Lincoln) was wounded in battle. But that’s a story for another time.

It’s not as much of a U.S. tradition, but if you haven’t heard it before, this rendition of the “In Flanders Fields” poem is a good one:

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Anyway, back on the hockey history side, Ottawa has been a tough place for Dallas in recent years, by which I mean they haven’t won in their last eight tries: Dallas has an 0-6-2 record in the Sens’ home rink over that span, and Gulutzan is very aware of that fact.

“Yeah, I’ve heard. I was thinking of bringing in Jobu from Major League to break curses,” Gulutzan quipped after morning skate.