Dallas Stars Travel Back To Winnipeg In Search Of Win
By Josh Clark
The Dallas Stars hit the road for Manitoba and take on the Winnipeg Jets tonight as they look to get back in the win column.
Last Saturday night, the Dallas Stars fell hard at the hands of the Boston Bruins in an ugly 7-3 loss. But the past is the past, and the Stars will now focus on getting back in the win column tonight in Winnipeg when they take on the Jets. This is the fourth of five meetings between the two teams, with the Stars winning all three to date.
The game will be broadcasted on Fox Sports Southwest (FSSW), and you can also hear it on 1310AM/96.7FM The Ticket. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Records and Scores
The Dallas Stars are still in the Central Division dogfight with the Chicago Blackhawks. Their record of 37-17-6 with 80 points has them just one point back of the Hawks with two games in hand. They are second place in the division and conference, and third overall in the NHL. Their most recent game comes as an ugly 7-3 loss to the Boston Bruins. They are 2-2-1 in their last five games.
The Winnipeg Jets are falling hard and falling quick. Their playoff hopes are becoming bleaker and bleaker with each passing day, and the Central Division is piling wins on top of them. Their current record is 25-29-4 with 54 points, good enough for dead last in the division. Their most recent matchup comes as a 3-1 loss to the Florida Panthers. They are 1-3-1 in their last five contests.
Storylines
Stars still need to tighten seams
The Dallas Stars are basically playoff bound at this point. With only 22 games to go in the season, it would take a collapse of drastic proportions to force them outside the playoff bubble. But where they will end up in the playoff standings is a complete guess.
Once the playoffs come around, the Stars will need to be on their A-game. That type of game is far from how they are performing now. While the offense has continued putting up its consistent scoring, the defense has been a mess.
Over the past two games, the Stars have surrendered a total of 13 goals. The defense just cannot piece things together, and it’s getting to a point in the season where fluidity is completely necessary. Maybe a new defender is needed to bolster the blue line? Or maybe the fix is as simple as Lindy Ruff changing up the pairs. Either way, the Stars need some answers on the back end and they need them quick.
The Jets just cannot beat the Stars
The Winnipeg Jets and Dallas Stars have shared roles over the past two seasons. During the 2013-2014 year, the Stars shocked the league by qualifying for the playoffs, while the Jets finished just a few points out of the wild card. Then in 2014-2015, the Stars were the ones barely on the outside while the Jets took their season to past 82 games.
In both seasons, the eventually playoff-bound team held the season series advantage between the two clubs. This season seems to be no different. The Stars are 3-0-0 against the Jets this year. Meanwhile, Winnipeg is a humbling 0-2-1.
Something just doesn’t go right for Winnipeg when they face off with Dallas, let alone the majority of their other competitors this season. The Jets have two opportunities this week to take down the Stars in any form or fashion. In the midst of a potential rebuild that includes selling at the upcoming deadline next week, it could really be a morale booster for the team.
Injury report
The Dallas Stars will be without the services of RW Patrick Eaves (ill). Travis Moen (lower body) is a game-time decision.
The Winnipeg Jets will play without D Grant Clitsome (back), D Mark Stuart (hand), and C Bryan Little (head).
Projected lines
Dallas Stars
Jamie Benn – Tyler Seguin – Jason Spezza
Antoine Roussel – Cody Eakin – Patrick Sharp
Valeri Nichushkin – Mattias Janmark – Ales Hemsky
Vernon Fiddler – Radek Faksa – Colton Sceviour
Alex Goligoski – John Klingberg
More stars: Potential Targets For Stars At Trade Deadline
Winnipeg Jets
Nikolaj Ehlers – Mathieu Perreault – Blake Wheeler
Andrew Ladd – Mark Scheifele – Joel Armia
Drew Stafford – Adam Lowry – Alex Burmistrov
Chris Thorburn – Andrew Copp – Anthony Peluso
Tobias Enstrom – Dustin Byfuglien
Next: Stars Need To Avoid Hitting Panic Button
Prediction
The Dallas Stars seem to have the Winnipeg Jets’ number this season. In all of the games this year, the Stars have hunkered down and fought hard to win. I like the Stars in this one, winning the game 4-2.