Dallas Stars @ Nashville Predators – Game Preview

The Dallas Stars (and their dads) head out to Nashville tonight for the first of a two game road trip.  After a loss on Tuesday to the Blue Jackets, the Stars will attempt to get back to the winning formula they had found prior to stumbling against Columbus.  This is the third of five meetings between these two teams and so far Nashville has had the upper hand winning both of the previous games.  This is the last time these two teams will play each other until April.  The puck will drop in Nashville at 7:00pm CT and the game can be found on Fox Sports Southwest and 1310AM/96.7FM the Ticket.

Records and Scores

The Dallas Stars (18-15-6) got off to a bad start on Tuesday against the Blue Jackets and were unable to fully recover in that game.  They are 8-2-1 in their last 11 games and they will try to get back to winning tonight against Nashville.  Heading into tonight, the Stars are 5 points back of 8th place Winnipeg with the Stars holding one game in hand on the Jets.  While there is still a lot of hockey left to be played, the Stars desperately need to improve on their record within the division and tonight there is an opportunity to do so.  The Stars are 2-7-4 within the Central Division but they are trending up with a 2-0-1 record in their last three divisional games.

The Nashville Predators (26-9-4) currently sit on top of the Central Division and are the only team with a single digit in the loss column in the entire NHL.  They are two points back of the Anaheim Ducks for the Presidents Trophy race and they hold three games in hand on the Ducks.  The Predators are 4-0-2 in their last six games and they continue to be the surprise story in the NHL this season.  They are ninth in the league in goals per game and second in goals against per game.  If a team has both of those categories in the top-10, chances are they’re winning a lot of games.

Storylines

Young Stars making an impact

Brett Ritchie is just the latest Stars rookie to get off to a hot start for the Dallas Stars.  First it was John Klingberg, who burst on to the scene with some dazzling goals and slick passes on his way to what is now 13 points in 25 NHL games.  Ritchie has come on in similar fashion, scoring a goal on his first NHL shot.  He now has three points in four games and is a +3 so far and he has also seen a little bit of time on the top line with Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin.  The Stars have been very patient with their development of young players like Ritchie and it seems to pay off in the long run.  Ritchie and Klingberg are just two of the latest examples of rookie Stars getting off to torrid starts in the NHL.  In the past two years, NHL rookies such as Colton Sceviour,  Alex Chiasson and Brenden Dillon have made impacts in the league after spending a lot of time in the minors.  The Stars hope Ritchie will have an even bigger impact as he continues his rookie campaign.

Speaking of rookies..

When the Nashville Predators traded Martin Erat and Michael Latta to the Washington Capitals for Filip Forsberg, everyone thought Nashville had just robbed the Capitals.  Well it has been over a year and it somehow looks even better for the Predators.  Forsberg leads all rookies in pretty much every offensive category, including goals, assists, +/-, and powerplay points.  He has been on a line with former Star Mike Ribiero for much of the season.  Having a playmaker like Ribiero by your side will do wonders for your offensive statistics and Forsberg is reaping the benefits.  He is running away with the Calder trophy for the rookie of the year in the NHL right now and it seems in doubt that anyone will catch him.

Injury Report

For the Stars, Val Nichushkin (hip), Patrick Eaves (ankle), Patrik Nemeth (arm), and Rich Peverley (heart) all remain out.

For the Predators, Anton Volchenkov (lower body), Taylor Beck (illness) and James Neal (lower body) are questionable for this contest.  Matt Cullen (upper body) is out.

Projected Lines

Dallas Stars

Shawn Horcoff is back in and it is unsure where he will fit in,  here is my best guess.

Jamie Benn – Tyler Seguin – Brett Ritchie

Erik Cole – Jason Spezza – Ales Hemsky

Antoine Roussel – Cody Eakin – Ryan Garbutt

Shawn Horcoff – Vern Fiddler – Colton Sceviour

Alex Goligoski – John Klingberg

Jamie Oleksiak – Trevor Daley

Jordie Benn – Jason Demers

Kari Lehtonen

Anders Lindback

Nashville Predators

Here is what Nashville has been running lately.

Filip Forsberg – Mike Ribiero – Craig Smith

Colin Wilson – Mike Fisher – Olli Jokinen

Gabriel Bourque – Calle Jarnkrok – Mark Arcobello

Eric Nystrom – Paul Gaustad – Viktor Stalberg

Roman Josi – Shea Weber

Mattias Ekholm – Ryan Ellis

Victor Bartley – Seth Jones

Pekka Rinne

Carter Hutton

Prediction

Both teams are playing pretty well right now.  The Stars have their dads on this two game road trip which is the second straight year they have participated in a short road trip.  Last year on the “dad road trip” the Stars went 1-0-1 and I think the motivation will be there once again.  I believe the Stars will take this one in a tight 3-2 contest that will need overtime to settle it.

Check back on Blackout Dallas for a postgame recap and go Stars!