Dallas Stars Continue Scrap To Playoffs vs. New York Rangers
The Dallas Stars have impressed the NHL over the past week, and will look to continue their success in a bout with the New York Rangers Monday night. This will be the first of two meetings between the two clubs, with the second one coming on February 8th at Madison Square Garden in New York. The game will be broadcasted on FSSW and MSG, and you can also hear it on 1310AM/96.7FM The Ticket. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 PM CST from the American Airlines Center.
Records and Scores
The Dallas Stars have been phenomenal over their past few games, and have put together a streak that is pushing them back into the playoff hunt that they have been absent from for the longest time. They currently sit with a record of 15-14-5 with 35 points, good enough for sixth place in the Central Division. They are 5-1-0 in their last six games, and have strung together a beautiful “comeback” trail. They sit seven points out of the final wild card spot, and ten points out of the first wild card spot, but they have two games in hand against the Winnipeg Jets, the team that currently sits in the first spot. Besides a hiccup against the Toronto Maple Leafs where they played a spectacular game but could not crack a goal off of 43 shots, they have performed magnificently. If the Stars can snag two points from the Rangers Monday night, they will be able to continue their ascension.
The New York Rangers are the hottest team in the NHL at the moment. After starting the season 11-10-4, they have won eight straight, I repeat, EIGHT straight contests, and will look to continue their trend against the Dallas Stars. They are 19-10-4 with 42 points, good enough for third place in the Metropolitan Division. They sit five points behind second place with two games in hand, so a win would be helpful in their cause. Their most recent win comes as a 3-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night.
Storylines
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App Trigger
Now is the time to make a statement
The Dallas Stars, after severely struggling in the first lap of their 2014-2015 campaign, a campaign they were expected to succeed greatly in, have come back, guns ablaze over the last eight games. They are 6-2-0 in the last eight contests, with their most recent win coming off as a 4-3 victory over the powerhouse St. Louis Blues. This was another portrayal of the Dallas Stars ‘complete’ game, a game in which they surfaced four goals off of 24 shots, two coming from defensemen, one from a fourth-liner, and one from a third-liner. They proved that they can be lethal on all sides of the puck, and Kari Lehtonen looks to have cleared his head after stopping 30 of 33. If the Dallas Stars want to make a run, now is the time to do it. Waiting any longer could prove to be disastrous, and with what they have started already throughout the latter half of December, they could seriously do some damage. After New York and Arizona on New Years, the Dallas Stars will get the perfect chance to gain all the ground needed in January. Out of the 13 scheduled games in the first month of 2015, seven of them are against Central Division opponents, including two against the Chicago Blackhawks and two against the Winnipeg Jets. Down seven points in the wild card, the Stars will look to use the next fifteen games to their complete advantage.
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Blue Line Station
Get it on offense, the rest will follow
The Rangers have been red hot in winning their last eight matchups, and these wins are largely due to their potent offense. They currently average 3.38 goals per game over the last eight, while averaging 3.03 on the season. Led by LW Rick Nash who leads the team in goals at 23 and points at 36, they are a sight to behold. With the Dallas Stars on-and-off defense, it will be a difficult matchup for the Stars to handle if they cannot stay firm on the defensive side of the puck.
Injury report
The Dallas Stars will be without F Valeri Nichushkin (hip surgery) and D Patrik Nemeth (arm laceration) for extended amounts of time. F Patrick Eaves (leg) will miss another few weeks and F Rich Peverley (heart) remains on non-playing IR.
The New York Rangers have no injuries of note, and will play with an entirely healthy lineup.
Projected lines
Dallas Stars
Jamie Benn – Tyler Seguin – Colton Sceviour
Erik Cole – Jason Spezza – Ales Hemsky
Antoine Roussel – Cody Eakin – Ryan Garbutt
Shawn Horcoff – Vernon Fiddler – Travis Moen
Jyrki Jokipakka – Trevor Daley
Alex Goligoski – John Klingberg
Jordie Benn – Jason Demers
Kari Lehtonen
Anders Lindback
New York Rangers
Rick Nash – Derick Brassard – Mats Zuccarello
Chris Kreider – Derek Stepan – Martin St. Louis
Carl Hagelin – Kevin Hayes – Lee Stempniak
Tanner Glass – Dominic Moore – Jesper Fast
Ryan McDonagh – Dan Girardi
Marc Staal – Dan Boyle
Kevin Klein – John Moore
Henrik Lundqvist
Cam Talbot
Prediction
Not going to sugar coat it, the Dallas Stars will need all forces to report for the full 60 minutes if they even want to come close to taking down this Eastern Conference juggernaut. The Stars will hopefully get one point, but lose in OT to the Rangers in a high-powered offensive battle, 5-4. Let’s hope I’m wrong, the Dallas Stars could really use it. Go Stars.