Dallas Stars’ Hopes Dwindle As They Face Ducks – Preview
By Josh Clark
The Dallas Stars rest on the brink of extinction from the playoff race after a few losses in a row, but they will continue to press on when they face off against the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday night at the American Airlines Center. This will be the second of three meetings between the two teams. The Ducks won the first meeting 2-1 in Dallas with an overtime goal from Corey Perry. The last game is scheduled for April 8th in Anaheim. Tonight’s game will be broadcasted on The NBC Sports Network (NBCSN), and you can also hear it on 1310AM/96.7FM The Ticket. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 PM CST from the AAC in Dallas, Texas.
Records and Scores
The Dallas Stars hit a heavy slump starting a week and a half ago and have yet to escape from it. This slump may very well be classified as the thing that knocks the Stars out of postseason contention. The Dallas Stars currently hoist a record of 27-25-10 with 64 points, good enough for last place in the Central Division and sixth in the wild card race, which translates to last place among those still realistically competing for the wild card spots. They sit seven points out of the final wild card spot and ten points out of the first, but have three other teams in front of them looking much more competent of taking those spots over. Their most recent game came as a 5-4 shootout loss against the Colorado Avalanche, a team that they controlled the entire game but still found a way to lose against in a critical game. They are 0-3-2 in their last five games.
The Anaheim Ducks, on the other hand, could not be better. They hold a record of 39-17-7 with 85 points, good enough for first in the Pacific Division and tied for second best in the league. Their most recent game came as a 4-2 win against the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Los Angeles Kings. They are 4-1-0 in their last five games.
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The infamous season drawing to an unfortunate end
The Dallas Stars did not live up to their expectations this season. After being considered a potential Stanley Cup dark horse team, they shocked a majority of the hockey world. Instead of plowing through the competition and prettily sitting at the top of their division, they are scrapping at the bottom of the list for points and look to have met the end of the road for 2014-2015. After five straight losses and talking about “getting on a pretty good run” for the past week and a half, it looks as though their time has all but run out. Not only will the Stars have to power through and succeed greatly through the rest of the season, but they now enter the gam of hoping that teams in front of them will falter. An uneventful year now sets the Stars in motion for a “big-change” offseason, potentially even bigger than the last. The Dallas Stars are now on their last limb, and the chances of making it to the postseason have all but been extinguished.
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Ducks reversing Stars game plan and succeeding
The Anaheim Ducks always seem to be set up for glory over the past few seasons. Over the past few games, they have shown themselves to be highly successful in one thing the Dallas Stars are unable to do: score and win in the third period. While the Stars give away third period leads like they are candy, the Ducks ravage their opposition in the third. Through the last 16 goals scored by the Ducks, 13 of them have come in the third period. They have conquered 2-1, 2-0, and 3-0 leads in those games, all coming off of third period goals. The Stars, on the other hand, know how to gain an early lead but seem unable to hold onto it in the last twenty minutes. It is the perfect combination for a red hot team like Anaheim, while a drastically lethal combination for a team like Dallas.
Injury report
The Dallas Stars are minus the services of F Tyler Seguin (knee), F Valeri Nichushkin (hip), and F Travis Moen (upper body) for a little while. F Patrick Eaves (concussion) participated in practice and could be ready to play Sunday against the Ducks. D Patrik Nemeth (arm) is in the AHL getting back in shape and is expecting call-up in the near future. F Rich Peverley (heart) remains on the non-playing IR.
The Anaheim Ducks will be missing F Matt Beleskey (shoulder), D Nate Thompson (lower body), D Sami Vatanen (lower body), and D Sheldon Souray (wrist).
Projected lines
Dallas Stars
Jamie Benn – Jason Spezza – Erik Cole
Antoine Roussel – Cody Eakin – Ryan Garbutt
Curtis McKenzie – Vernon Fiddler – Ales Hemsky
Colton Sceviour – Shawn Horcoff – Brett Ritchie
(Patrick Eaves could fill in for one of the wingers on the fourth line if he is ready)
Alex Goligoski – John Klingberg
Jyrki Jokipakka – Trevor Daley
Jordie Benn – Jason Demers
Kari Lehtonen
Anaheim Ducks
Kyle Palmieri – Ryan Getzlaf – Corey Perry
Andrew Cogliano – Ryan Kesler – Jakob Silfverberg
Jiri Sekac – Rickard Rakell – Emerson Etem
Patrick Maroon – Chris Wagner – Tim Jackman
Hampus Lindholm – Francois Beauchemin
Cam Fowler – Ben Lovejoy
Clayton Stoner – Josh Manson
John Gibson
Prediction
You’re kidding, right? The Dallas Stars in their depleted state are no match for the powerhouse the Anaheim Ducks bring to the table. The Ducks will thrash the Stars, 5-2 Sunday night. Let’s hope I’m wrong, because a loss would be more than devastating to the remaining sliver of playoff hopes.