The Dallas Stars will take on the Tampa Bay Lightning in their sixth and final preseason game tonight at 7:30 p.m. CT at the American Airlines Center.
The game will be radio-broadcasted on 1310 AM/96.7 FM The Ticket and live-streamed on DallasStars.com. Blackout Dallas and the Dallas Stars Twitter feeds will keep you updated as well.
Former meetings:
The Dallas Stars are 4-1-0 so far in the preseason, having lost only one game to the Tampa Bay Lightning who dropped them 6-3 back on Friday, September 26th. The Lightning, 2-1-0, have not played since last Friday against the Stars and will look to use their fresh energy on a Dallas team that performed no more than 24 hours ago.
Dallas Notes:
-The Dallas Stars put on a show last night against the Florida Panthers in Dallas, successfully clawing back from 3-0 and 4-3 deficits. Tyler Seguin scored a hat trick, along with Valeri Nichushkin and Jason Spezza both picking up a goal. They will certainly be tired tonight, but it’s simply better practice for back-to-backs coming down the road in the regular season.
-Kari Lehtonen is out for “a few days” according to Lindy Ruff. He suffered a concussion last night after a collision in the crease.
-Julius Honka, John Klingberg, Brendan Ranford, Curtis McKenzie, Justin Dowling, and Radek Faksa were all sent to Cedar Park where they will become members of the Texas Stars for this upcoming season. Can you say Calder Cup repeat?
-Jordie Benn was hit by a puck about halfway through the third period last night and is not expected for tonight’s game. “He’s got a bruised outer extremity that we’re going to have to rest a little bit,” Ruff said.
-Jussi Rynnas cleared waivers and will be serving as backup for tonight’s game. Anders Lindback will get the start in net and is expected to play the entire game against his former team. Lindback is 3-0-0 in the preseason with a 2.78 goals against average and a .914 save percentage. Lindy Ruff has had nothing but positive things to say about Lindback so far.
-The Stars lineup for opening night will most likely closely resemble tonight’s lineup. Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, and Valeri Nichushkin will man the first line while Erik Cole, Jason Spezza, and Ales Hemsky will hold the second line. Shawn Horcoff, Vernon Fiddler, and Colton Sceviour will hold the third line, which was a line combination Lindy Ruff used at the end of last season that ended up producing beautiful results.
-Cody Eakin re-signed with the Dallas Stars yesterday afternoon and is back in town, but will not be playing in tonight’s matchup. He will be ready for the season opener though, where he will most likely be centering Ryan Garbutt and Antoine Roussel. But for tonight, Patrick Eaves, Travis Morin, and Brett Ritchie will hold the fourth and final line.
-No new words on Brenden Dillon, and Jyrki Jokipakka will fill in for tonight’s game. Jokipakka has played magnificently so far, and is putting up serious competition against Dillon. If no new deal is made by October 9th for Dillon, Jokipakka will be a more than capable and trustworthy Plan B.
Tampa Bay Notes:
-Ben Bishop is expected to get the start in goal tonight and play the entire game. He helped in taking down the Stars last Friday.
-Former Stars captain Brenden Morrow is a member of the Lightning now, but is expected to sit out for this game.
Here’s the projected lines for the Dallas Stars tonight:
Jamie Benn – Tyler Seguin – Valeri Nichushkin
Erik Cole – Jason Spezza – Ales Hemsky
Shawn Horcoff – Vernon Fiddler – Colton Sceviour
Patrick Eaves – Travis Morin – Brett Ritchie
Alex Goligoski – Trevor Daley
Patrik Nemeth – Jamie Oleksiak
Jyrki Jokipakka – Sergei Gonchar
-Anders Lindback
-Jussi Rynnas
Comments and questions below, and as always, thanks for reading! Go Stars.
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