Dallas Stars Look to Get Back on Feet vs. Sabres – Preview
The Dallas Stars continue to allow opportunity to pass them up as the hunt for the playoffs continue. Tonight, they will hope to snag a great chance and take two points versus the Buffalo Sabres. This will be the first of two meetings between the Sabres and Stars, with the second matchup scheduled for March 23rd at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. The game will be broadcasted on Fox Sports Southwest Plus (FSSW+). Puck drop is scheduled for 6:00 PM CST from the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York.
Records and Scores
The Dallas Stars are still in the running for a playoff spot, but with games not being finished off and losses developing, their window is becoming more narrow. Their record sits at 23-20-8 with 54 points, which is good enough for a tie for dead last in the Central Division, which sounds awful until you see that they are only a mere five points from a playoff spot. So, things are a little tight. Their most recent game comes as a 5-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, a game that the Stars controlled and ultimately should have won statistically, but their goaltending and defense could not hold up. This seems to be a recurring factor, and the Stars cannot afford many more games to pan out like this. They are 2-2-1 in their last five matchups.
The Buffalo Sabres, on the other hand, have hit rock bottom and been there for a while now. With a record of 15-34-3 and 33 points, they sit dead last in the NHL standings, and a playoff spot has been a mere dream for the Sabres for some time now. They have yet to break double digits on their ROW total this year, and are coming off of a franchise-worst 14 game losing streak. They did not win a game in the month of January and are 1-4-0 in their last five. Their most recent performance came as a 3-0 loss at the hands of the St. Louis Blues.
Storylines
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Goaltending and defense must improve if playoffs will happen
The Dallas Stars are learning what it is like to be a heavily-hyped team in the preseason that somewhat tanks in the regular season. Sadly, the entire team effort has not been their downfall. The Dallas Stars offense has been eccentric, tallying an average of 3.17 goals per game this season. On the opposite side of the spectrum, the defense and goaltending have contributed to tossing away 3.27 goals per game. That puts the Stars in fourth place league-wide for most goals per game and in 27th place for most goals given away. Those numbers do not get you into the playoffs. Since the beginning of the year, the Dallas Stars have outshot their opponents in 9 of the 15 possible games. In those nine games, they are 2-6-1. The defense and goaltending are becoming too caught up in the lead and the way the Stars are outplaying the opponent, and as a result they are handing over goals late to the opposition. Kari Lehtonen has been a plaguing mystery all season, and you never know which goaltender you will be getting in the crease on any given night: the goalie that makes 35 of 37 saves look easy, or the goalie that gives away two goals in the first two shots. Lehtonen’s save percentage is .904, the worst save percentage of his 10-season career, and his goals against average is creeping to a new high. If the Dallas Stars are looking for a playoff spot this season, Lehtonen looks to be the only guy that can get them there.
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Sabre Noise
Making history in all the wrong ways
It is no secret that the Buffalo Sabres were going to have a substantial amount of hardships to face while trying to make the playoffs this year. But no one knew it was going to be THIS bad. The Sabres are coming off of a 14-game losing streak, the worst losing streak their franchise has ever experienced. This streak began on December 29th, 2014, and did not end until February 3rd when they beat the Montreal Canadiens even though they were outplayed. That means that not a point was added to their total throughout the month of January. They have almost doubled their goals against in relation to their goals for, with 97 goals for and 184 goals against. This Sabres team is disgruntled with no hope, but the last thing the Dallas Stars can do is take them lightly. They have nothing to lose, which is exactly why the Stars cannot get cocky at a crucial time in the season like this.
Injury report
The Dallas Stars will be missing the services of F Travis Moen (lower-body injury). F Valeri Nichushkin (hip) and D Patrik Nemeth (arm laceration) are both 3-6 weeks from returning, per Lindy Ruff. Rich Peverley (heart) remains on non-playing IR.
The Buffalo Sabres will be without F Marcus Foligno (hand) and F Cody McCormick (blood clot).
Projected lines
Dallas Stars
Jamie Benn – Tyler Seguin – Patrick Eaves
Erik Cole – Jason Spezza – Ales Hemsky
Antoine Roussel – Cody Eakin – Ryan Garbutt
Shawn Horcoff – Vernon Fiddler – Colton Sceviour
Alex Goligoski – John Klingberg
Jyrki Jokipakka – Trevor Daley
Jordie Benn – Jason Demers
Anders Lindback
Kari Lehtonen
Buffalo Sabres
Chris Stewart – Zemgus Girgensons – Tyler Ennis
Matt Moulson – Torrey Mitchell – Brian Gionta
Cody Hodgson – Brian Flynn – Drew Stafford
Nicolas Deslauriers – Matt Ellis – Patrick Kaleta
Josh Gorges – Tyler Myers
Mike Weber – Tyson Strachan
Andre Benoit – Rasmus Ristolainen
Jhonas Enroth
Matthew Hackett
Prediction
The Dallas Stars will finally get out of the current funk they are stuck in and will narrowly beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-3. Lindback will be left out to dry, but make some key saves down the stretch and stop 29 of 32. Let’s hope I’m right. Go Stars.