Dallas Stars Still In Hunt As They Face Avalanche – Preview
The Dallas Stars started came into the New Year on a strong note, but have recently been caught in a bit of a slump. They will hope to get out of the current funk they are in when they visit the Colorado Avalanche Saturday afternoon. This will be the second of five meetings, with the last three coming in February. The last time the two teams met on November 29th, the Avalanche blasted the Stars 5-2. The game will be broadcasted on Fox Sports Southwest Plus (FSSW+), and you can also hear it on 1310AM/96.7FM The Ticket. Puck drop is scheduled for 2:00 PM CST from the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado.
Records and Scores
The Dallas Stars have not won in a week, but still manage to hold a pretty decent record that is close to putting them back in a playoff spot. They sit with a record of 18-15-7 with 43 points, which is good enough for fifth place in the Central Division They are 6-2-2 in their last ten games, but 1-1-2 in their last four. Their most recent game comes as a 3-2 overtime loss to the Nashville Predators on Thursday night. They sit just four points out of a wild card spot, with one game in hand. They sit ten points out of third place in the Central Division, also with a game in hand, but that is still a while away. If the Stars can pull off two points against the Avalanche, they will be able to keep the pressure on the teams that sit just barely ahead of them.
The Colorado Avalanche have seen much worse days than they are experiencing right now. They are 17-16-8 with 42 points, good enough for sixth place in the Central Division. Their most recent game comes as a 5-2 win against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night. They sit just one point behind the Dallas Stars, but have played one more game than the Stars on the season. They rest five points out of a wild card spot, with no games in hand. But the Avalanche have been red hot recently, going 7-3-0 in their last ten games, 4-1-0 in their last five. They could use the points from the Stars to take over fifth place in the Division.
Storylines
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App Trigger
Which one is the real Kari Lehtonen?
The Dallas Stars have struggled over their last few games, but not as much as one might think. The offense has been electric, while the defense has played some of its best hockey of the year. The main problem seems to be the goaltenders in net. Anders Lindback, the Dallas Stars backup goaltender, hit a rocky path Tuesday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets, giving away four goals as the Stars dropped a 4-2 decision, notching their first regulation loss of 2015. But Stars starter Kari Lehtonen has met some similar obstacles. Lehtonen is 1-0-2 to start off the new year, but could very easily be 3-0-0. After three straight astounding performances against the New York Rangers, Arizona Coyotes, and Minnesota Wild, he seemed to crumple, losing his next two in overtime. Lehtonen has a save percentage of .899 over the last three games, along with a goals against average of 3.00. A few goals given away have not been high quality chances, including the game-winner from Chicago and the game-winner from Nashville. Both these crucial goals were scored after they deflected off Lehtonen. Kari Lehtonen has played on-and-off to date this year, but will need to stay consistently hot if he wants his team to continue to succeed.
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Eyes On Isles
Varlamov is the difference-maker
Unlike in the Stars case, the Colorado Avalanche have the utmost faith in their goaltender’s abilities. Semyon Varlamov has been electric this season, after a brilliant 2013-2014 campaign which he ended as a finalist for the Vezina Trophy. Through the last five games, Varlamov is 4-1-0 with a save percentage of .932 and a goals against average of 2.00. This includes a 54 save shutout on January 6th, 2015 against the offensive-minded Chicago Blackhawks. If Varlamov has his mind in the right state, he will be hard for the Stars to break.
Injury report
The Dallas Stars will be without F Valeri Nichushkin (hip surgery) and D Patrik Nemeth (arm laceration) for extended amounts of time. F Patrick Eaves (leg) will miss another week or so and F Rich Peverley (heart) remains on non-playing IR.
The Colorado Avalanche will be without F Patrick Bordeleau (knee), F Ben Street (hand), F Jamie McGinn (back), D Ryan Wilson (shoulder), F Jesse Winchester (concussion), and D Cory Sarich (back).
Projected lines
Dallas Stars
Jamie Benn – Tyler Seguin – Brett Ritchie
Erik Cole – Jason Spezza – Ales Hemsky
Antoine Roussel – Cody Eakin – Ryan Garbutt
Shawn Horcoff – Vernon Fiddler – Travis Moen
Alex Goligoski – John Klingberg
Trevor Daley – Jamie Oleksiak
Jordie Benn – Jason Demers
Kari Lehtonen
Anders Lindback
Colorado Avalanche
Gabriel Landeskog – Matt Duchene – Borna Rendulic
Alex Tanguay – Ryan O’Reilly – Jarome Iginla
Max Talbot – John Mitchell – Nathan McKinnon
Cody McLeod – Marc-Andre Cliche – Danny Briere
Jan Hejda – Erik Johnson
Nate Guenin – Tyson Barrie
Brad Stuart – Nick Holden
Semyon Varlamov
Reto Berra
Prediction
The Dallas Stars look as though something has caught them up, and the effort just does not seem there. Unless the effort simply explodes Saturday afternoon, the Stars will lose this game 3-2 in overtime. Let’s hope I’m wrong. Go Stars.