Stars Visit Blackhawks In Battle of League’s Hottest Teams
By Marcus Gatto
Jan 3, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Stars center Vernon Fiddler (38) and right wing Erik Cole (72) celebrate Fiddlers goal against the Minnesota Wild during the first period at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
The Dallas Stars will look to extend their season long five game winning streak tonight when they visit the Blackhawks in Chicago. The Stars will be playing in the second half of a back-to-back after beating the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night by a score of 7-1. Puck drop is scheduled for 7pm CST and the game can be seen on national TV via NBCSN or heard on the radio by tuning your dial to 1310AM.
Records and Scores
The Dallas Stars are playing their best hockey of the season right now. They are 8-2 in their last 10 games and they have won 5 straight overall. This recent surge has helped them jump back into the Western conference playoff chase. They currently sit four points out of the last playoff spot with a record of 18-14-5 (41 points). In their past two games, they have outscored opponents by a score of 13-1.
The Chicago Blackhawks head into tonight’s contest as a very hot team as well. Over their past 10 games they are 6-3-1. Their overall record of 25-11-2 positions them as the second place team in the Central division and third place in the Western conference. Their most recent outing was a 3-2 loss to the Washington Capitals on New Year’s day.
Storylines
Shooting Stars
As previously mentioned, the Dallas Stars are the league’s hottest team. They are 8-2 in their last 10 games and have now won 5 straight games overall. Over this surge the Stars have been scoring a tonne of goals. Over their past two games they have scored a combined 13 goals in victories over the Minnesota Wild and Arizona Coyotes. They also scored 6 against Edmonton and 4 against both New Jersey and St.Louis. This is a good sign for the Stars heading into Sunday night’s matchup with the Blackhawks because they will assuredly have to try and outscore superstar forwards Jonathon Toews and Patrick Kane if they plan on grabbing two points.
Same Old Song and Dance For Hawks
The Chicago Blackhawks continue to be the class of the National Hockey League as they are once again a top team in the Western conference. The Blackhawks have 52 points on the season and only sit 4 behind conference leading Anaheim. The Blackhawks are top 5 in both goals for and goals against this season. They rank 5th in goals for at 3.00 per game and rank as the league’s stingiest defence by only allowing an average of 2.10 goals per game. They are tied for second in the entire league with 25 wins and lead the league by averaging 35.3 shots per game. Everything the Chicago Blackhawks seem to have done the past couple of seasons has worked. Therefore, it will be up to Lindy Ruff and the Stars players to try and draw up a creative gameplan to derail the incredibly consistent Hawks train.
Injury Report
Dallas is without Patrik Nemeth (arm laceration), Valeri Nichushkin (hip), and Rich Peverley (heart) long-term, while Shawn Horcoff is day-to-day with an illness.
The Chicago Blackhawks will be without both Kris Versteeg (Upper Body) and Trevor Van Riemsdyk (Lower Body) tonight.
Projected Lines
Dallas Stars
Jamie Benn- Tyler Seguin- Colton Sceviour
Erik Cole- Jason Spezza- Ales Hemsky
Antoine Roussel- Cody Eakin- Ryan Garbutt
Travis Moen- Vernon Fiddler- Brett Ritchie
Alex Goligoski- John Klingberg
Jamie Oleksiak- Trevor Daley
Jordie Benn- Jason Demers
Kari Lehtonen
Anders Lindback
Chicago Blackhawks
Brandon Saad- Jonathon Toews- Marian Hossa
Patrick Sharp- Brad Richards- Patrick Kane
Brian Bickell- Marcus Kruger- Andrew Shaw
Dan Carcillo- Teuvo Teravainen- Ben Smith
Duncan Keith- Brent Seabrook
Niklas Hjalmarsson- Johnny Oduya
Michal Rozsival- David Rundblad
Corey Crawford
Antti Raanta
Predictions
The Stars have played very well recently but tonight will be a long night in Chicago. The Stars are playing the second half of a back-to-back in arguably the toughest building in the NHL. The Stars will lose 4-2 tonight.