Dallas Stars Visit Canada’s Capital, Take on Senators
The Dallas Stars will head north to face the Ottawa Senators this afternoon in hopes of getting out of their latest slump. Puck drop is earlier than usual at 4PM CT and the game can be seen on Fox Sports Southwest Plus.
Records and Scores
The Dallas Stars (39-20-7) most recently beat the New Jersey Devils on Friday night. They got back into the win column after a rather low stretch in the season and they’ll hope to build on the win this afternoon.
The Senators (30-28-7) played the Maple Leafs last night and won 3-2. They’ll hope to get a big win at home against the Stars this afternoon.
Story Lines
New Addition Assimilation
The Stars are still adjusting to the addition of defenseman Kris Russell to the line-up and this afternoon he’ll play his third game in victory green.
While one roster change isn’t the most significant event that the team could’ve faced, it will certainly continue to have an affect on them until the new no. 2 gets comfortable.
In his previous two games with the Stars, Russell has no points and an average of just over 21 minutes of time on ice. He played mostly alongside Jordie Benn, but with his injury he’ll be playing with new partners until a new fit is found.
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Best Players Being the Best
There’s no doubt that the Dallas Stars have an immense amount of talent within their locker room. From preliminary Canadian World Cup team players Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn, to the more understated Cody Eakin and Valeri Nichushkin Dallas seems to have it all.
That is when they’re playing the game the way they’re capable of. The Stars struggle with consistency, like most teams, but especially from their best players of late. It’s difficult to watch the Seguins and Benns on the ice when they aren’t playing the way everyone knows they can and it ultimately hurts the team overall.
Moving forward Dallas should expect better performances from everyone in the line-up, but especially those labeled as the “best” players in the room.
Injuries
The Stars may be without Patrick Eaves (illness) and John Klingberg (lower-body). They won’t have Patrick Sharp (undisclosed) or Jordie Benn (lower-body) in the line-up as they didn’t make the trip.
Ottawa will play without Clarke MacArthur (concussion), Chris Phillips (back), Kyle Turris (ankle) and Craig Anderson (lower-body) in their line-up today.
Line Combinations
Dallas Stars
Jamie Benn – Tyler Seguin – Brett Ritchie
Mattias Janmark – Jason Spezza – Valeri Nichushkin
Antoine Roussel – Cody Eakin – Ales Hemsky
Radek Faksa – Vernon Fiddler – Colton Sceviour
Johnny Oduya – Jason Demers
Kris Russell – Alex Goligoski
Patrik Nemeth – Jamie Oleksiak
Antti Niemi
Kari Lehtonen
Ottawa Senators
Mike Hoffman – Mika Zibanejad – Bobby Ryan
Zack Smith – Jean-Gabriel Pageau – Mark Stone
Ryan Dzingel – Scott Gomez – Alex Chiasson
Nick Paul – Curtis Lazar – Chris Neil
Marc Methot – Erik Karlsson
Dion Phaneuf – Cody Ceci
Patrick Wiercioch – Chris Wideman
Andrew Hammond
Chris Driedger
Next: Kris Russell Could Be Missing Piece For Stars
Prediction
The Stars will find their way back in the win column yet again this afternoon against the Senators by a score of 3-2 in overtime.