Dallas Stars Seek To Re-Write History At Barclays Center
The Dallas Stars will need to exercise more than their scoring muscle if they plan to take advantage of an unsure Islanders team and walk away from their New York Trip with the win.
The Stars were able to reach unusual offensive heights on Tuesday, but fell very short when it came to the defensive end of things. Although they had to score seven goals to do it, they pulled Stout a win and now move on to a building that has bested them in the past. Now, they could be primed to switch things around and be the better team at the Barclays Center.
It won’t be one to miss, and FSSW and 1310AM/96.7FM The Ticket will be there to help you catch all the action from the moment the puck drops at 6 pm CT from Barclays Center.
Records and Scores
The Dallas Stars are at a 19-19-8 records with a chance to push themselves over from the red into the black. Coming off a 7-6 win against the Rangers on Tuesday, the Stars (and the fans) did not garner much confidence from that win; while it did perhaps hint at the returning strength of the offense, it revealed the ugly reality of inconsistent defense and goaltending.
And this explosive win was coming off a 4-1 loss to Buffalo on Monday, which started off their three game roadtrip on a down note.
The New York Islanders also find themselves in a spot of wavering inconsistency. After firing their head coach Jack Capuano on Tuesday, they’ll be hoping to improve on their 17-17-8 record and move up from last place in the Eastern Conference.
Their last game was on Monday, a 4-0 loss to Boston which put them at 2-2-2 over their last six games. This will be their first contest with interim head coach (Assistant GM) Doug Weight at the helm.
Storylines
Storming the castle
In previous seasons, the Dallas Stars have not fared particularly well at Barclays Center. They went 1-1-0 in their two-game series last season and beyond that, have all three of their most recent road games with the Islanders’ barn as their destination.
Although the Barclays Center hasn’t been very kind, the Stars have an opportunity now to take advantage of a transitional time for the Islanders. With an unsatisfactory standing and a brand-new coach, the Islanders could be a good target a barrage of offensive firepower from the Stars.
A high-scoring affair
The Stars and Islanders have a high-scoring history together, as well as separately, in recent games. In their last six contests, these two teams have a combined goals per game average of 7.83.
And while the Stars have scored four or more goals in four of their last six games, the Islanders have done the same in eight of their past eleven. So, we could see another dramatic scoreboard situation in Brooklyn tonight.
The Stars still struggled in their previous 7-6 win despite their offensive achievements. If the Stars want a repeat of their goals for and not their goals against, they will need to be much more vigilant on the defensive end and banish the offensive mentality of “anything you can do, I can do better.”
One-upping simply will not do in the long term for this team whose forwards can get burned out when they are carrying the entire team.
Sad stats
It would seem that the Dallas Stars are susceptible to the winning streak blues. That is, they have great difficulty pulling out two wins in a row. In fact, they are much more likely not to, with a 3-11-4 record following a win to prove it.
A piece of that problem may lie in the Stars’ penalty kill, which seems to be wearing thin. In their last nine games, they have allowed 13 power play goals. However, the Islanders’ power play, which has gone 0-14 over the last five games, could be well-matched in its flimsiness.
But it’s a new day
Despite some discouraging stats, the odds may yet be in the Stars’ favor. With everything negative to be said about the Stars’ win on Tuesday, it was still a win and the Stars did manage to stay ahead of their opponent’s scoring at all costs.
Instrumental in that win were Tyler Seguin and Patrick Eaves, who co-lead the Stars with 16 goals. Patrick Sharp scored two on Tuesday, and Cody Eakin was also a spurring force, with a Gordie Howe hat trick and his first goal of the season.
Jamie Benn also seemed to snap out of his scoring slump (pun definitely intended) in securing three points. In short, the Stars were able to light a fire under some key players whose abilities were central to the win and will hopefully be on display again tonight.
Injury Report
The Dallas Stars lost Johnny Oduya (lower body) to injury on Tuesday night, and will yet again be without Mattias Janmark (knee) and Ales Hemsky (groin).
The New York Islanders are day to day with decisions about Cal Clutterbuck (lower body) and Andrew Ladd (upper body), and Travis Hamonic (lower body) is on IR.
Projected Lines
Dallas Stars
Antoine Roussel – Tyler Seguin – Jason Spezza
Jamie Benn – Cody Eakin – Patrick Eaves
Devin Shore – Radek Faksa – Patrick Sharp
Lauri Korpikoski – Adam Cracknell – Jiri Hudler
New York Islanders
Anders Lee – John Tavares – Josh Bailey
Brock Nelson – Ryan Strome – Stephen Gionta
Anthony Beauvillier – Alan Quine – Jason Chimera
Shane Prince – Casey Cizikas – Nikolay Kulemin
Calvin de Haan – Dennis Seidenberg
Thomas Hickey – Johnny Boychuk
Next: Dallas Stars Won't Get Far On Firepower Alone
Predictions
I think the Dallas Stars are confident enough about their last win to keep the momentum going, and understand their shortcomings enough to not fall into extreme complacency. I have the Stars coming out ahead 4-2 in this one and starting a new trend at Barclays Center.