Dallas Stars Look to Finish Road Trip on Right Note In Vancouver
The Dallas Stars will conclude their five game road trip tonight with a visit to the Vancouver Canucks. Will they be able to keep their winning streak alive?
The Dallas Stars hit a low when they lost to the Winnipeg Jets by an 8-2 margin last Tuesday, but they managed to win back-to-back games to end the week and lift their spirits. Tonight they’ll finish out their road trip with a visit to Vancouver. Puck drop is set for 3PM CT.
Records and Scores
The Stars (6-6-3) beat the Calgary Flames on Thursday followed by a win over the Edmonton Oilers Friday to start their first winning streak of the season. Dallas has looked confused about their identity and was unable to really get much of anything together, but they look to be moving in the right direction. They’ll hope to continue their streak today in Vancouver.
The Canucks (5-9-1) fell to the Detroit Red Wings Thursday night, 3-1. Vancouver has struggled to find consistency in their game and was on a nine game losing streak prior to beating the New York Rangers last Tuesday. They’ll be looking to end Dallas’ winning streak at home this afternoon.
Storylines
Shining Stars?
Dallas’ greatest issue this season has been their lack of confidence in their identity. That’s due, in part, to the lengthy injuries they’ve been dealing with; however, it’s also just a byproduct of pressure.
The Stars won the Central Division and the Western Conference in the regular season last year and that no doubt put a target on their back. They had little expectations from other teams and analysts going into the 2015-16 campaign and they shattered any doubts.
More from Analysis
- Dallas Stars Traverse City Tournament: Who had great performances?
- Taking a look at the teams the Dallas Stars will be playing in the preseason
- Should the Dallas Stars revisit signing Patrick Kane this season?
- Realistic regular season stats for Dallas Stars Roope Hintz
- Realistic regular season stats for Dallas Stars Joe Pavelski
This season, though, they walked in with a target. They underperformed in the postseason and were expected to find a way back to their pre-playoff style of play. Dallas led the NHL in scoring last season and when that wasn’t happening at the start of the season, they panicked.
Thanks to good coaching by Lindy Ruff and patience, the Stars are beginning to come around. They look like they’ve discovered their identity once again and are able to play in close games with more success.
That isn’t to say there aren’t issues, because there are, but they’re getting more results from their work now. That kind of motivation will do wonders for any team, but especially one as young as the Stars.
The Power of a Streak
Dallas is also on their first winning streak of the season. It only took them about a month to win back-to-back games, but they did it.
That’s a confidence booster for everyone in the locker room and the stands because no one wants to return to their old ways. Winning feels a lot better than losing and the Stars finally have a good taste of what that feels like and they don’t want to give it up.
It won’t come easy, though. This is a Vancouver team that, like the Stars last season, is underrated. Their first line features three of the best Swedish forwards in the game, Daniel and Henrik Sedin and former Dallas Star Loui Eriksson.
Dallas will have to be on their game if they want to come out on top in this one.
Injuries
Dallas will be without Mattias Janmark (knee), Ales Hemsky (groin/hip), Patrick Sharp (concussion), Jason Spezza (lower-body) and Cody Eakin (knee) today.
Vancouver will play without Jayson Megna (undisclosed), Anton Rodin (knee), Chris Tanev (lower-body) and Jannik Hansen (rib) in today’s match-up.
Line Combinations
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
Vancouver Canucks
Daniel Sedin – Henrik Sedin – Loui Eriksson
Markus Granlund – Brandon Sutter – Derek Dorsett
Sven Baertschi – Bo Horvat – Alexandre Burrows
Michael Chaput – Brendan Gaunce – Jack Skille
Alexander Edler – Troy Stecher
Prediction
The Dallas Stars will keep their winning streak alive with a 4-3 win in Vancouver.