Dallas Stars Game Against Maple Leafs Could Determine A Lot
By Josh Clark
The Dallas Stars will resume play tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs after a four-day vacation. Tonight’s game carries a lot of weight with it as well.
After a restful four-day break for the 2017 All-Star Weekend, the Dallas Stars are back in action tonight as they resume a six-game homestand. Tonight, they square off against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports Southwest (FSSW) and you can also hear it on 1310AM/96.7FM The Ticket. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX.
Records and Scores
The Dallas Stars enter tonight’s game with a record of 20-20-10 with 50 points in 50 games. They sit eleventh in the Western Conference and are three points out of the final wild card spot. Their most recent game was a thrilling 4-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres at home on Thursday. The Stars are 2-1-2 in their last five games.
The Toronto Maple Leafs, on the other hand, own a record of 23-15-9 with 55 points in 47 games. Surprisingly enough, they are currently outside the playoff picture, though they only have one separating them. Their most recent game resulted in a 2-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers and they are 2-2-1 in their last five contests.
Dallas Stars
Storylines
Toronto is on the rise
It seems as though not long ago, the Toronto Maple Leafs could be counted out before the season even began. After almost making it past the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2013, the Leafs fell into a three year drought.
But this year, things are different. The Leafs are being confidently led by a 19-year-old American rookie named Auston Matthews and have a new burst of life. They are only one point out of both the final wild card spot and third place in the Atlantic Division, and have multiple games in hand on each spot.
Similar to Buffalo, this is no “easy win” for the Stars. They will need to have all hands on deck tonight if they want to remain in the win column and continue rolling against the Eastern Conference.
Happy birthday Seggy
It’s a special day in the Dallas Stars organization. Tyler Seguin is celebrating his 25th birthday today. He currently leads the Stars in points with 47 and is tied for the team lead in goals with 18.
Maybe tonight he can cap off his 25th birthday with a couple of goals and a victory? We’ll have to wait and see.
This game carries a lot of weight
This game, similar to the Buffalo game, carries a lot of weight with it for both teams. Both the Stars and Maple Leafs are currently sitting on the outside, but still have a clear view of the inside. They are just a few points away from a playoff spot and need all the help they can get. That help starts with winning.
As you already know, only one team can walk away with two points tonight. But both are in desperate need of them. For the Stars, a loss could put them as much as four points out of the final spot with a game out of hand. It could also push them to the bottom of the teams still in the playoff hunt if Winnipeg wins.
There’s a lot riding on this game for both the Stars and Maple Leafs, so Dallas should be expecting a difficult task. The question is whether they are up for it or not.
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Lehtonen must find his groove
Throughout the first half of this season, you could have argued that the Dallas Stars’ goaltending was the only thing keeping them in contention. Both Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi were putting up quality production in the crease and seemed to always be giving the Stars a chance to win.
But over the past month, the positive energy has all but dissipated. In the 12 games of 2017, the Stars have made a goalie change in five of them. That should never happen.
Lehtonen has definitely been the more successful half of the duo this month, considering he has only been pulled two of the five times and has helped secure three of the Stars’ four wins this month. Tonight, he is expected to get the start against the Maple Leafs.
If Lehtonen can get into a groove early and prevent any early goals, the Stars could have a really strong chance at winning this game. But if he flops and Lindy Ruff is forced to make the change yet again, Dallas could be done for.
Injury report
The Dallas Stars will be without D Johnny Oduya (lower body), D Jamie Oleksiak (hand), C Mattias Janmark (knee), and RW Ales Hemsky (hip).
The Toronto Maple Leafs will be minus the services of RW Ben Smith (hand), RW Joffrey Lupul (abdomen), and RW Nathan Horton (back).
Projected lines
Dallas Stars
Jamie Benn – Cody Eakin – Patrick Eaves
Antoine Roussel – Tyler Seguin – Jason Spezza
Devin Shore – Radek Faksa – Patrick Sharp
Lauri Korpikoski – Adam Cracknell – Brett Ritchie
Kari Lehtonen
Antti Niemi
Toronto Maple Leafs
James Van Riemsdyk – Tyler Bozak – Mitchell Marner
Leo Komarov – Nazem Kadri – William Nylander
Zach Hyman – Auston Matthews – Connor Brown
Matt Martin – Frederik Gauthier – Nikita Soshnikov
Morgan Rielly – Nikita Zaitsev
Jake Gardiner – Connor Carrick
Next: Stars Must Run The Table To Close Out Homestand
Prediction
This is going to be a tough one. If Dallas can figure out a way to dig in and model their play over the past week, give me the Stars winning this one 4-2.