Dallas Stars @ Carolina Hurricanes – Game Preview
By Jordan Dix
The Dallas Stars are headed to Carolina looking for a minor-miracle to stay in the playoff hunt. This will be the second and final meeting between the Stars and the Hurricanes, with Carolina winning the previous matchup. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:00pm CT and the game can be found on Fox Sports Southwest or 1310AM/96.7FM the Ticket.
Records and Scores
The Dallas Stars (30-27-10) are coming off one of their best defensive efforts of the season, a 2-1 victory over the Flyers in Philadelphia. They come into play tonight 8 points back of the Winnipeg Jets for the final playoff spot in the West and are going to need to win almost all of their remaining games to make it in. Before they get to the Jets, there are three other teams ahead of them also fighting for that playoff slot. The race to the finish is going to be a wild one in the West.
The Carolina Hurricanes (25-32-8) have been out of the playoff discussion for a while but they have been playing pretty well of late. They’ve lost a lot of close games this season as their overall goal differential doesn’t look like a team that should be in the bottom-four of the NHL. They will be getting a high pick in the upcoming draft and have some really good young pieces to improve around. For now, they will look to play the role of spoiler.
Storylines
Who will win the scoring race in Dallas?
When Tyler Seguin went out with a knee injury, Jamie Benn looked like he was going to take off and finish as the top scorer for the Stars this season. Seguin made a quick recovery and finds himself just one point shy of Benn for the team lead. Both players are also within just two points of the top-10 in overall NHL scoring. Last season, Seguin and Benn finished 4th and 8th in the NHL scoring race, respectively. If they want to will their team into the playoffs, it is going to take similar totals.
Carolina will add to their bright future this summer
The Hurricanes will most likely finish in the bottom-four in league standings and should get a top-5 draft pick out of it. With how deep this year’s draft is expected to be, they should be able to add yet another youthful difference-maker to their roster. They have two of the brightest young players in the league right now with Justin Faulk and Elias Lindholm. Jeff Skinner has had some concussion issues but he still should have a lot of productive years ahead of him. The Hurricanes are playing spoiler for now, but they have a bright future ahead of them.
Injury Report
For Dallas, Cody Eakin (team discipline) is going to be a game-time decision. Jason Demers (illness) and John Klingberg (upper body) are questionable. Trevor Daley (lower body), Travis Moen (upper body) and Val Nichushkin (hip) are out.
For the Hurricanes, Jack Hillen (concussion) is questionable.
Projected Line Combinations
Dallas Stars
Jamie Benn – Tyler Seguin – Patrick Eaves
Antoine Roussel – Jason Spezza – Ales Hemsky
Curtis McKenzie – Shawn Horcoff – Brett Ritchie
Ryan Garbutt – Vernon Fiddler – Colton Sceviour
Alex Goligoski – John Klingberg
Jordie Benn – Patrik Nemeth
Jamie Oleksiak – Jyrki Jokipakka
Kari Lehtonen
Jhonas Enroth
Carolina Hurricanes
Eric Staal – Victor Rask – Elias Lindholm
Nathan Gerbe – Jordan Staal – Andrej Nestrasil
Jeff Skinner – Riley Nash – Alexander Semin
Brad Malone – Jay McClement – Pat Dwyer
Ron Hainsey – Justin Faulk
Rasmus Rissanen – Ryan Murphy
Brett Bellemore – Michal Jordan
Cam Ward
Anton Khudobin
Prediction
The Stars have desperation in their game and Tyler Seguin looks like a man who wants to be in the playoffs. He gets the hat-trick and the Dallas Stars defeat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-3. Check back here for a postgame recap!