Dallas Stars Travel To Carolina To Face Upstart ‘Canes – APRIL FOOL’S
By Tom Dorsa
It’s April Fool’s Day in Dallas, Texas, the home of the Dallas Stars. Let’s pretend, just for a moment, that this season was way better than the trash we have this year.
The Dallas Stars, winners of 15 consecutive games, recalled centers Justin Dowling and Gemel Smith from their American Hockey League affiliate and defending Calder Cup champion Texas Stars.
Dowling’s 51 goals and Smith’s 67 assists are both tops in the AHL, which means their shot in the big leagues is well deserved and definitely not because of injuries or end-of-season indifference.
Dowling and Smith will fit into the highest-scoring offense (3.60 goals per game) in the NHL with ease, said Stars general manager Jim Nill: “With Dowling, we get someone that can actually move the puck and not stay in their defensive zone the whole damn game like that ginger guy,” Nill said. “And also, Smith scored twice against the next best team in the Western Conference one time, so smell my feet.”
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The Stars leading scorers, Jamie Benn (52 goals) Tyler Seguin (48 goals), and Patrick Eaves (46 goals) welcome the two AHLers with pride and comfort. “We have 20 more points than the next closest opponent in the standings, the Winnipeg Jets,” Seguin, 25, said. “We’re probably going to win 16 playoff games in a row, so I don’t care, gosh.”
The Stars, with 135 points, look to tie the Colorado Avalanche for the longest winning-streak in the NHL season. Colorado won 16 games straight, their only 16 wins this season.
The Stars, who clinched a playoff spot in January after Calder-favorite Devin Shore’s five-goal game, face the reigning Stanley Cup champions in Raleigh tonight, the Carolina Hurricanes.
It will be the first time back in Raleigh, North Carolina for defenseman Justin Faulk and center Jeff Skinner since the Stars acquired the two young stars at the trade deadline for Jamie Oleksiak and what’s left of Cody Eakin.
“It’ll be tough for us,” Skinner said of the night he and Faulk will have, but: “we each have 35 points since coming to Dallas, so we’re thankful for escaping that half-empty arena.”
In addition, this game will be the first against the Hurricanes since the Stars hosted them earlier this season, the match in which defenseman John Klingberg erupted for four goals and three assists. The young Swede, whose 85 points lead the NHL in defensive scoring, will likely be paired with rookie defender Ludwig Bystrom, given how pretty Bystrom’s hair is.
In net tonight for the Stars, making his ninth-straight start, future Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Henrik Lundqvist; backing up will be Philippe Desrosiers, who totally didn’t regress this season at all. For Carolina, their crease will be guarded by a literal trash bag.
Expected Lines:
Benn-Seguin-Eaves
Nichushkin-Spezza-Skinner
Sharp-Faksa-Shore
Hemsky-Smith-Roussel
Elie
Klingberg-Bystrom
Faulk-Johns
Benn-Honka
Lindell
Lundqvist
Desrosiers
Next: Julius Honka Has Earned a Spot With The Dallas Stars
Oh, yeah, April Fools. Can’t we dream, though?