Dallas Stars Seek To Beat Kings Before Holiday Break
By Josh Clark
The Dallas Stars have one final game to play in their current homestand against the Los Angeles Kings and will enter the holiday break after tonight. Can they pull out a win?
Christmas day is just around the corner and we’re about to go 72 straight hours without Dallas Stars hockey (let alone NHL hockey). They have one more game to play tonight against the Los Angeles Kings before taking off for a break.
The game will be broadcasted on Fox Sports Southwest Plus (FSSW+), and you can also hear it on 1310AM/96.7FM The Ticket. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX.
Records and Scores
The Dallas Stars continue to struggle along in search of a .500 record. They currently sit 13-14-7 with 33 points and are fifth in the Central Division. A win would be greatly helpful as they continue the tight race for position. Their most recent game was a hard-fought 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues in overtime on Tuesday night. They are 2-2-1 in their last five games.
The Los Angeles Kings currently boast a record of 17-13-3 with 37 points. They are close to the Stars in the standings, but unlike Dallas they hold the first wild card spot at the moment. Their most recent game was last night when they shut out the Nashville Predators 4-0. They are 3-1-1 in their last five contests.
Storylines
Kings coming off a big win
The Los Angeles Kings, much like the Blues on Tuesday, are playing the Stars in the second night of a back-to-back situation. Last night, they were in Nashville, TN duking it out with the Nashville Predators.
The Kings had no trouble handling the Predators, shutting them out in a 4-0 win. It was the fourth shutout of the season for Kings’ goaltender Peter Budaj, who stopped 28 shots. Four different Kings scored in the routing and helped propel LA into the top wild card spot. So the Stars are facing off against a team with plenty of momentum tonight.
Best way to get back in the standings? Beat the teams right in front of you
The Dallas Stars and Los Angeles Kings seem to be having very different seasons so far in terms of success. But low and behold, only four points separate the two in the standings. Things are still very tight right now.
Considering the Kings are so close by, this game means a lot for Dallas. If the Stars want to chip away at positioning and start to gain ground in the standings, the best way to do it is to beat the teams directly in front of them. That’s where it all starts after all.
This is the second of three meetings between the Kings and Stars this year, so Dallas needs to capitalize on this one.
First meeting wasn’t the best first impression
On October 20, 2016, the Stars welcomed the Kings to the AAC for their fourth game of the season. They were 2-1-0 and were searching for their first win streak of the season.
But the Kings had different plans. LA scored three goals on Dallas and fended them off 4-3 in overtime. The Kings dominated play and gave the Stars little to work with all throughout the game. They outshot the Stars 39-20 and continually kept their offensive production flowing. The Kings made it hard on Kari Lehtonen, who finished the night with 35 saves.
“They’re a very good team and don’t give up a lot of chances,” Radek Faksa said. “We have to play a simple game, try to hang out by the net, and win the offensive and one-on-one battles.”
The Stars offense, however, cashed in on their opportunities throughout the game. They scored three goals on 20 shots and picked Budaj apart. Tonight, Dallas will need a better showing on defense and a continued flow of offense.
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No Quick? No problem
In the first game of the Kings’ 2016-17 season, they lost starting goaltender Jonathan Quick to a groin injury. That injury has kept him on the shelf for the entire season, and will keep him on the IR until mid-February.
The two-time Cup winning starting goalie means a lot to the Kings’ success overall.
But so far this year, it looks as though they are managing pretty well without him. That is due primarily to the success of G Peter Budaj. The 34-year-old goalie is 15-8-3 this season with a 2.04 GAA and a .919 save percentage.
The Stars will need to find a way to crack him early again tonight and rattle his confidence if they want to get ahead and stay that way.
Injury report
The Dallas Stars will be without C Mattias Janmark (knee) and RW Ales Hemsky (hip), who are on the injured reserve for an extended period of time. RW Patrick Sharp (concussion-like symptoms) is still on IR. LW Antoine Roussel and D Stephen Johns are both doubtful for tonight.
The Los Angeles Kings will be without the services of G Jonathan Quick (groin), LW Kyle Clifford (undisclosed), and D Brayden McNabb (collarbone). C Tyler Toffoli is considered day-to-day and did not play last night in Nashville.
Projected lines
Dallas Stars
Jamie Benn – Jason Spezza – Brett Ritchie
Lauri Korpikoski – Tyler Seguin – Patrick Eaves
Curtis McKenzie – Radek Faksa – Adam Cracknell
Patrik Nemeth/Jamie Oleksiak – Devin Shore – Jiri Hudler
Dan Hamhuis – Jamie Oleksiak/Patrik Nemeth
Kari Lehtonen
Los Angeles Kings
Marian Gaborik – Anze Kopitar – Trevor Lewis
Dwight King – Jeff Carter – Tyler Toffoli
Tanner Pearson – Nic Dowd – Devin Setoguchi
Andy Andreoff – Nick Shore – Jordan Nolan
Peter Budaj
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Prediction
The Stars could really use a win to get back to .500 and enter the Christmas break on a high note. Even though they are understaffed, give me Dallas squeaking by with a 3-2 win.