Dallas Stars Go Drilling For Points In Edmonton
With a win fresh under their belt, the Dallas Stars will be on the hunt tonight for another win against the Edmonton Oilers.
Following a three game losing streak, the Stars really showed up against the Flames and started doing more of the things they’re best at. Although they were down in shots, they stayed up in goals and earned the full two points, and they’ll hope to do the same in Edmonton tonight.
The game will be broadcasted on Fox Sports Southwest (FSSW), and you can also tune in on 1310AM/96.7FM The Ticket. Puck drop is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. CT from Rogers Place.
Records and Scores
The Dallas Stars are 5-6-3 after a 4-2 win over the Flames on Thursday. Such a win was pretty reassuring after their ugly 8-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets. Now that their losing streak has been snapped, the Stars will hopefully be replicating the play that got them there.
At 9-4-1, the Edmonton Oilers are second in the Western Conference and first in the Pacific Division. They’ll be returning home tonight after an evenly split, five game road trip with a 2-2-1 record.
Storylines
The boys really are back
While it was hard to watch the Stars flounder, they have now hopefully found their way and will *hopefully* stick to it. After a nine game scoring drought, the Captain made it rain with two goals, the second a PPG and the game winner.
Tyler Seguin was ever the playmaker, and Antoine Roussel earned a Gordie Howe hat trick. With everyone seeming to fall into their natural places, the Stars could fare very well against the Oilers tonight if they are able to remain that productive.
Cinderella story
The Stars were 2-0-1 in their last season series against the Oilers, and it’s no secret that Edmonton was at the bottom of the tables. However, they seem to have turned things around. Despite coming off a fresh loss to the Penguins, the Oilers are 2-0-0 against Central division opponents this season. Their captain, the young Connor McDavid, is currently tied for second in the league in scoring.
The Stars have historically done well against the Oilers, and are 2-0-1 against Pacific division opponents this season. However, with the Oilers making their way in the world, this game will be a good test of the Stars’ ability to keep up their new calm, cool, collected play.
Injury Report
The Dallas Stars are still without Jiri Hudler (illness), Cody Eakin (knee), and Mattias Janmark (knee). Jason Spezza (lower body) is getting closer to return. Yesterday Patrick Sharp (concussion) skated with the team for the first time since his injury, and could possibly return for the end of the road trip.
The Edmonton Oilers will be without Brandon Davidson (upper body), Iiro Pakarinen (lower body), Mark Fayne (lower body), Matt Hendricks (lower body), and Andrew Ference (lower body), who are all on injured reserve. Kris Russell (undisclosed) and Zack Kassian (undisclosed), are day to day.
Projected Lines
Dallas Stars
Jamie Benn – Radek Faksa – Lauri Korpikoski
Antoine Roussel – Tyler Seguin – Patrick Eaves
Curtis McKenzie – Devin Shore – Brett Ritchie
Gemel Smith – Justin Dowling – Adam Cracknell
Edmonton Oilers
Patrick Maroon – Connor McDavid – Jordan Eberle
Benoit Pouliot – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jesse Puljujarvi
Milan Lucic – Leon Draisaitl – Tyler Pitlick
Anton Lander – Mark Letestu – Anton Slepyshev
Andrej Sekera – Matthew Benning
Next: Dallas Stars Needed To Be Humbled By Brutal Loss
Predictions
The Dallas Stars will really have to hold their own on the road to pull the two points from this one. But I think they’ve got their groove back, and they’ll welcome the Oilers back home to a 3 – 1 score and keep rolling from there.