Dallas Stars Head East To Dance With Devils
The Dallas Stars look to reassert their dominance over the East, starting with the New Jersey Devils tonight. Catch up on all the details before puck drop.
The Dallas Stars are back in action tonight against the New Jersey Devils, looking to start the New Year off right in the first of a three game road trip to the East.
The puck will drop at 6 PM CT at Prudentials Center, and the game will be broadcasted on Fox Sports Southwest Plus (FSSW+), and1310 AM/96.7 FM The Ticket.
Scores and Records
Dallas Stars
Coming out well overtop the Nashville Predators just like we knew they could, the Stars sealed up 2015 and entered 2016 with a 28-8-3 record and the NHL’s most points, at 59 (with the Capitals nipping at their heels with their 58). That total also leads the Central by 9 points.
New Jersey Devils
Currently sitting at fourth in the Metropolitan with 43 points, the Devils’ last gamed ended in a win over the Senators (3-0 on Wednesday) which increased their record to 19-14-5.
Storylines
Watch for Streaking
The Dallas Stars greet the New Year with league-high points collectively, but keep your eye on the individual point tallies as well. Both Jamie Benn and Patrick Sharp are riding seven-game point streaks, with 4 goals in that period of time for each of them.
Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin continue to meet expectations and then some this season, sitting second and third in the NHL in terms of points, with 52 and 50 respectively. And your captain also currently leads the league in goals, edging out Patrick Kane’s 23 (which ties him with Tyler Seguin) by one.
The Devils will be starting Corey Schneider, who made 36 saves to shutout Ottawa on Wednesday. Look also for Mike Cammalleri, Kyle Palmieri, and Lee Stempniak, who lead the Devils in points, along with Adam Henrique who is New Jersey’s third highest scorer after Palmieri and Cammalleri.
Palmieri’s scoring has extended to three goals in his last four games, and Lee Stempniak will look to extend his ten-game point streak, with 4 goals and 6 assists, to an eleven one tonight.
Breaking New Ground
This is the season’s first meeting of the Stars and Devils, with 2016 providing the sense of a new slate and fresh possibilities.
However, we do still have last season to go on. The Stars went 2-0-0 against New Jersey in their two matchups last season, with one of those wins pushed into overtime.
This season, the Devils are 2-4-0 against Central Division opponents such as Dallas, while the Stars can boast a stellar performance with a record of 15-5-0 against the East and 7-4-0 against the Atlantic.
While the Dallas Stars lead the NHL in scoring and like to win by wide margins if they can, as we saw against the Preds, the Devils have allowed two goals or less in 14 of their last 19 games.
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Will the Stars’ league-high 3.49 goals per game prove true enough to prevent the Devils from notching two shutouts in a row? With Wednesday’s win being the Devils’ first consecutive game win since mid-November, my gut says yes.
Injury Report
The Dallas Stars lost Ales Hemsky to a lower body injury and possibly also Valeri Nichushkin, who is day to day with an upper body injury.
The New Jersey Devils will have to do tonight without Patrik Elias (knee), Ryane Clowe (concussion) and Jacob Josefson (lower body).
Projected Lineups
Dallas Stars
Jamie Benn –Tyler Seguin –Patrick Sharp
Mattias Janmark –Jason Spezza –Valeri Nichushkin
Antoine Roussel –Cody Eakin –Colton Sceviour
Travis Moen –Vernon Fiddler –Patrick Eaves
Alex Goligoski –John Klingberg
New Jersey Devils
Mike Cammalleri –Travis Zajac –Kyle Palmieri
Jiri Tlusty –Adam Henrique –Tyler Kennedy
Stefan Matteau –Sergey Kalinin –Lee Stempniak
Bobby Farnham –Stephen Gionta –Jordin Tootoo
Jon Merrill –David Schlemko
Corey Schneider
Next: Dallas Stars 2015: A Whimsical Year In Review
Predictions
Coming off a big win New Years’ Eve, the Dallas Stars will be looking to carry over that confidence and repeat their high-powered performance, and they will, overcoming the Devils 4-2.