The Dallas Stars will welcome the Washington Capitals to Dallas tonight as they kick off a six game homestand. This homestand could easily determine how the Stars’ season pans out.
It’s do-or-die time in Dallas, and the Dallas Stars might not be prepared for what awaits them. They start up a solid six game homestand tonight against the best team in the NHL. Everyone keep your heads low just in case things start to get ugly.
The game will be broadcasted on Fox Sports Southwest (FSSW) as well as the NHL Network, and you can also hear it on 1310AM/96.7FM The Ticket. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. CT from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX.
Records and Scores
The Dallas Stars come into tonight’s matchup boasting a lowly record of 19-20-8 with 46 points. That record is less than .500, which would be considered the average. The Stars are struggling to stay alive in the playoff hunt and continue to fall behind with unnecessary losses. Their most recent game finished up as an ugly 3-0 loss to the New York Islanders and they are 2-3-0 in their last five games.
The Washington Capitals, on the other hand, are flying high. With a record of 30-9-6 with 66 points, they are the only team in the NHL that does not have double digit regulation losses. They sit atop the NHL, and rightly so. Their most recent game was a 7-3 clobbering of the St. Louis Blues and they are 4-0-1 in their last five.
Storylines
Washington’s win streak put the Stars to shame
The Dallas Stars have had some serious trouble with winning consistent games this season. Their biggest win streak is three games and it came almost a month ago. This problem is starting to hurt the Stars’ playoff hopes.
Putting a few wins together has not been a problem for the Capitals. Before losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in a heated 8-7 overtime loss on Monday night, the Caps had won nine straight games. Some of their opponents included the Penguins, Canadiens, Blackhawks, and Blue Jackets. They currently still own an 12-game point streak and have not lost in regulation since December 27.
During their nine game win streak, the Caps outscored their opponents 40-11. That’s absolutely unheard of. This is otherworldly stuff that we are talking about here.
And this powerful resurgence is helping Washington solidify themselves as the best team in a stacked Eastern Conference. Any chance they could share some of those wins with Dallas?
It’s nice to be the best at everything
The Washington Capitals, just as they did last season, are having a year to remember. They are 10-0-2 in their last 12 games and have a lot of positive outcomes in games throughout 2017 so far.
They have the most wins in the league with 30 and have the highest points percentage at .733. They have the fifth best goals per game average with 3.20 and the best goals against average with 2.07. The Caps have the third best penalty kill and lead the league in 5-on-5 save percentage at .941.
Washington is 7-0-0 against the Central Division this season and is 25-3-4 when scoring the first goal of the game. Dallas has allowed the first goal in each of the past four games.
So the deck is not necessarily stacked in favor of the ailing Stars going into tonight’s matchup.
Adding insult to injury (literally)
A few days ago, it was made official that Johnny Oduya would be put on the injured reserve list for 2-4 weeks with an ankle injury. Since 2017 began, the Dallas Stars defense has been experiencing a lot of uncertainty. They have allowed 18 goals in the past four games and have not been giving the Stars a decent chance at winning.
With one of their veteran defenders out of the lineup at yet another critical point in the season, Dallas may as well already be in the danger zone for a playoff spot.
Stars running the show against Capitals in recent past
The Dallas Stars may be facing the best Capitals team they have ever witnessed tonight, but at least they can claim history in their favor. The Stars have won their last nine games against the Capitals. Since the beginning of the 2013-14 season, Dallas has won the six most recent match-ups.
The last time that the Capitals emerged victorious from a bout with the Stars was on October 25, 2008. That’s almost a decade ago.
Tonight seems like the perfect scenario for Washington to come away with their first win in a while. We’ll see how Dallas responds to their wicked adversity.
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This one could get messy
I’m not going to lie to you. This game could become extremely one-sided in a matter of moments. After all, we saw the Stars go down 4-0 to the Minnesota Wild in a matter of minutes one week ago. Sure they clawed back into it, but they could not escape with the win.
Tonight could be a very similar beginning/end. If the Capitals continue riding their hot streak and forceful style of play, there really isn’t much hope for the Stars to even make a dent in the game. Anything is possible, but the Caps are just playing an insanely quality brand of hockey right now.
Don’t expect a lot, especially from a slow and jumbled Stars team that lost to the worst team in the East two nights ago.
Injury report
The Dallas Stars are back in injury troubles. They will be missing RW Ales Hemsky (hip) and LW Mattias Janmark (knee) for significant amounts of time. D Johnny Oduya (ankle) and D Jamie Oleksiak (hand) will also be out tonight.
The Washington Capitals will be minus the services of D John Carlson (lower body).
Projected lines
Dallas Stars
Jamie Benn – Cody Eakin – Patrick Eaves
Antoine Roussel – Jason Spezza – Tyler Seguin
Devin Shore – Radek Faksa – Patrick Sharp
Curtis McKenzie – Adam Cracknell – Brett Ritchie
Washington Capitals
Alex Ovechkin – Nicklas Backstrom – T.J. Oshie
Marcus Johansson – Evgeny Kuznetsov – Justin Williams
Brett Connolly – Lars Eller – Andre Burakovsky
Daniel Winnik – Jay Beagle – Tom Wilson
Dmitri Orlov – Matt Niskanen
Phillipp Grubauer
Next: Stars Continue Doing Hokey Pokey While Playoff Hopes Die
Prediction
This one is probably going to get ugly. Dallas does not have a lot of confidence or energy right now and the Caps are walking tall throughout the league. Give me Washington in a 5-2 victory.