Toronto Maple Leafs @ Dallas Stars – Game Preview
By Jordan Dix
The Dallas Stars will look to continue their winning streak when the Toronto Maple Leafs visit the American Airlines Center tonight. This is the second and final meeting between the two teams, with the Maple Leafs winning the first matchup in Toronto by a score of 5-3. The puck will drop at 6:00pm CT and you can find the game on Fox Sports Southwest or 1310AM/96.7FM The Ticket.
Records and Scores
The Dallas Stars (14-13-5) are looking to continue a season-high four game winning streak tonight. They are coming off one of the wildest games of the year in which they beat the Edmonton Oilers 6-5 in a shootout after being down in the game 5-2. The Stars need to keep winning, as they enter play tonight a full 8 points back of the wildcard teams, the Winnipeg Jets and the Los Angeles Kings. They do have at least one game in hand on almost everyone so they are far from out of it at this point.
The Toronto Maple Leafs (19-12-3) are going the opposite direction of the Stars right now. They have lost three in a row and in that span they have given up a total of 15 goals. However, they do bring in the NHL’s leading offense right now, as they are scoring at a torrid 3.29 goals per game this season. They currently sit in the top wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference with 41 points.
Storylines
Seguin, Seguin and more Seguin
He just can’t stop scoring. No matter what the other team does, Tyler Seguin finds a way to get open and put a puck in the net. He currently has a five goal lead for the Rocket Richard trophy over Vladimir Tarasenko and Rick Nash. He was recently overtaken in the NHL points lead by Jakub Voracek, but I doubt he minds as the Stars continue to win. He’s second in the league in game-winning goals with 4 and leads all Dallas Stars with points on the powerplay. He is doing it all for the Stars right now and is easily one of the most exciting players to watch in the NHL right now.
Toronto trying to get back on track
The Toronto Maple Leafs have lost their last three games by a combined score of 15-5. They are struggling to keep the pucks out of the net and a meeting with the high-flying Stars is not what they want. They do bring in the league’s best offense and they are up against the league’s worst defense so they have that going for them. We can probably expect a similar game to the one in Toronto, where the Maple Leafs beat the Stars 5-3 in a high-powered offensive game. What could be the difference for them tonight is their special teams play. While the Stars are in the bottom-10 in both penalty killing and power play percentage, the Maple Leafs are in the top-10 in both categories. We’ll see if special teams is the difference in this matchup.
Injury Report
The Dallas Stars will continue to miss Patrick Eaves (leg), Val Nichushkin (hip), Patrik Nemeth (arm), and Rich Peverley (heart).
For the Maple Leafs, they will be missing Leo Komarov (concussion).
Projected Lines
Dallas Stars
It almost seems impossible to predict the lines the Stars will roll out lately, here is what Ruff had them running in the morning skate:
Jamie Benn – Tyler Seguin – Ales Hemsky
Antoine Roussel – Jason Spezza – Erik Cole
Cody Eakin – Travis Morin – Ryan Garbutt
Shawn Horcoff – Vern Fiddler – Colton Sceviour
Alex Goligoski – John Klingberg
Jyrki Jokipakka – Trevor Daley
Jordie Benn – Jason Demers
Kari Lehtonen
Anders Lindback
Toronto Maple Leafs
Stephane Robidas was scratched for Jake Gardiner in their previous game but he may draw back in tonight.
James van Riemsdyk – Tyler Bozak – Phil Kessel
Daniel Winnik – Nazem Kadri – Mike Santorelli
Joffrey Lupul – Peter Holland – David Clarkson
David Booth – Trevor Smith – Richard Panik
Dion Phaneuf – Cody Franson
Jake Gardiner – Roman Polak
Morgan Rielly – Korbinian Holzer
Johnathan Bernier
James Reimer
Prediction
Last time, the Maple Leafs got off to a fast start and ended up beating the Stars 5-3. I am expecting a similar game but with the roles reversed. The Stars continue their winning ways with a goal and an assist from Ales Hemsky and Jason Spezza and they beat the Maple Leafs 5-3.
Check back here for postgame analysis and go Stars!