Feb 19, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Stars left wing Antoine Roussel (21) skates up the ice after the San Jose Sharks score a goal during the second period at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Tonight the Detroit Red Wings will visit the AAC to take on the Dallas Stars in the second meeting of the season between these two teams. In the first meeting back on December 4th, the Wings scored five times on route to a 5-2 win. This game came during the height of Kari Lehtonen’s struggles this season and Texas Star Jussi Rynnas got the start. The Stars will look for a bounce back effort against the Wings after being beat 5-2 at home by the San Jose Sharks on Thursday. Puck drop is scheduled for 8pm CST and will be carried on FS-SW and 1310 The Ticket.
Records and Scores
The Dallas Stars couldn’t capitalize on a grand opportunity to place themselves in the thick of the Western conference playoff race on Thursday night. The Stars hosted the Sharks who, at the time, were 4 points ahead of the Stars and had played 2 more games. Instead, the Stars dug themselves and early 3-0 hole they could never fully recover from. The loss dropped them to 11th place in the Western conference and 6 points back of San Jose for the final wild card spot.
The Detroit Red Wings continued to roll this season as they beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 in a shootout on Wednesday evening. Tomas Tatar had a goal and an assist, as well as the shootout winner. The Wings currently sit in a 3-way tie for fourth place in the Eastern conference with 74 points. They still feature world-class players Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk who have made this team a contender yet again this season. The Wings are seeking a 24th consecutive playoff appearance this season.
Storylines
Can Kari Bounce Back?
Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen was pulled after allowing 3 goals on 17 shots against the Sharks on Thursday night. Previous to that outing he was 4-0-0 with a .925 save percentage and 1.98 goals against average. The shots that beat him on Thursday night were very familiar to goals he has allowed throughout the season. They were weak. If this team is to make the playoffs this season, Kari must shake off this poor outing and continue his comeback to being the No.1 goaltender the Stars crave.
Special Teams Have Been Special For the Wings
Heading into tonight’s matchup the Red Wings boast the league’s best powerplay at 25.9% and the league’s 7th best penalty kill at 83.3%. Often times a team will aim for a combined powerplay and penalty kill to add up to 100%. This season the Wings have easily surpassed that marker with a combined special teams score of 109.2%. It will be imperative the Stars stay out of the box tonight and do not dig themselves an early hole. The powerplay may have a tough time creating great scoring opportunities so the Stars must get ahead early and dominate play 5-on-5.
Injury Report
The Stars will go without Val Nichushkin (hip), Patrik Nemeth (arm), Travis Moen(upper body), Tyler Seguin (knee), and Patrick Eaves (concussion). Ales Hemsky (lower body) is a game-time decision.
The Wings will be without forward Johan Franzen who continues to rehab from a concussion.
Projected Lines
Dallas Stars
Jamie Benn- Jason Spezza- Erik Cole
Antoine Roussel- Cody Eakin- Ryan Garbutt
Curtis McKenzie-Vernon Fiddler- Brett Ritchie
Brendan Ranford- Shawn Horcoff- Colton Sceviour
Alex Goligoski- John Klingberg
Jyrki Jokkipakka- Trevor Daley
Jordie Benn- Jason Demers
Kari Lehtonen
Jhonas Enroth
Detroit Red Wings
Justin Abdelkader- Henrik Zetterberg- Teemu Pulkkinen
Tomas Tatar- Pavel Datsyuk- Darren Helm
Gustav Nyquist- Riley Sheahan- Stephen Weiss
Drew Miller- Joakim Andersson- Luke Glendening
Jonathan Ericsson- Niklas Kronwall
Kyle Quincey- Dan DeKeyser
Brendan Smith- Alexey Marchenko
Jimmy Howard
Jonas Gustavsson
Prediction
The Stars are in the midst of playing 5 games in 8 days and the Wings have not played since Wednesday. With a back-to-back in Minnesota looming on Sunday night this game is huge for the Stars and their playoff hopes. Unfortunately, I see the Wings powering past the Stars 3-1.