Dallas Stars Aim To Sweep Season Series vs. Hurricanes
By Josh Clark
The Dallas Stars suffered a disappointing overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Friday night. They will try to revert to their winning ways tonight when they take on the Carolina Hurricanes. Get all the latest info about tonight’s game here.
The Dallas Stars put together a marvelous performance against the Edmonton Oilers on Friday night but somehow only escaped with one point. They will look to avenge that loss with a win tonight at home against the Carolina Hurricanes. This is the second and final matchup between the two teams, with the Stars taking the first game 4-1.
The game will be broadcasted on Fox Sports Southwest (FSSW), and you can also listen to it on 1310AM/96.7FM The Ticket. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX.
Records and Scores
The Dallas Stars did not have as successful of a week as they should have, grabbing four points when they quite simply could have snagged six. But with a record of 20-5-2 with 42 points, they still own the best record in the league and are the only team with 20 wins. Their most recent game comes as a heartbreaking 2-1 overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Friday. The Stars are 3-0-2 in their last five games.
The Carolina Hurricanes, on the other hand, could use a boost. Boasting a record of 10-13-4 with 24 points, the Canes sit seventh in the Metropolitan Division and seven points out of a wild card spot. Their most recent games comes as a thrilling 5-4 win over the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday. They are 2-3-0 in their last five games, though they are on a two-game winning streak.
Storylines
Stars trying to avoid long road trip pitfall in first home game back
The Dallas Stars did not have one of their best weeks in Western Canada last week, but still managed to get a point in each one of their games. As a result, they retained their title of “best team in the NHL” and have an impressive lead based on their current standing.
Now the issue lies within coming back home. While the Stars are 9-3-0 at home this year, their problem could lie within their return from the long road trip. This season, the Stars have endured two home losses that have both occurred after long road trips. After a four game road trip in mid-October, the Stars came home and dropped a 6-2 loss to the Florida Panthers. After a four game trip in November, the Stars lost 3-2 to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
It’s an interesting trend to examine, but hopefully the Stars will be able to turn it around when they take on the Canes tonight.
Carolina losing the easy ones, winning the tough ones
The Carolina Hurricanes are once again struggling through a new regular season and look destined for another offseason of rebuilding. The Canes only sit seven points out of a playoff spot, but with their current performance it is a much more difficult gap to shut off.
But the Hurricanes have been doing something out of the ordinary the past few games. Over the last few matches, it seems as though the Hurricanes are beating some of the best teams in the NHL and losing to some of the worst.
While they lost 3-2 to the Philadelphia Flyers and 4-1 to the Buffalo Sabres, they defeated the Arizona Coyotes 5-4 and the Montreal Canadiens 3-2. Not only that, but they almost closed off a gap and tied it up with the New York Rangers in a 4-3 heartbreaker. So, considering the Stars are the best team in the NHL, they definitely should not take Carolina lightly.
Injury report
The Dallas Stars will be without the services of D Jason Demers (upper body). Demers missed his second game Friday in Edmonton and is proving to be one of the Stars more consistent factors on defense.
The Carolina Hurricanes will be without LW Nathan Gerbe (lower body) and D James Wisniewski (knee).
Projected lines
Dallas Stars
Jamie Benn – Tyler Seguin – Valeri Nichushkin
Mattias Janmark – Jason Spezza – Patrick Eaves
Patrick Sharp – Cody Eakin – Ales Hemsky
Antoine Roussel – Vernon Fiddler – Colton Sceviour
Alex Goligoski – John Klingberg
Patrik Nemeth – Jamie Oleksiak
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- Burn the tapes: Dallas Stars prospects lose 5-1 to Toronto Maple Leafs
- Dallas Stars look to continue success today against the Maple Leafs
Carolina Hurricanes
Kris Versteeg – Eric Staal – Elias Lindholm
Joakim Nordstrom – Jordan Staal – Andrej Nestrasil
Jeff Skinner – Victor Rask – Phil Di Giuseppe
Brad Malone – Jay McClement – Brock McGinn
John Michael-Liles – Brett Pesce
Prediction
The Dallas Stars are known for bouncing back from tough games. Even though Edmonton might have been their most devastating loss of the season, the Stars will find a way to get back on the horse. I have them beating the Hurricanes 3-1 tonight, officially completing the season sweep.