Dallas Stars Aim To Get Back On Track vs. Canucks
The Dallas Stars will look to get back to their winning ways tonight when they face off against the Vancouver Canucks. Get all the latest info about tonight’s game here.
The Dallas Stars suffered a disappointing loss before their Thanksgiving break, but will look to get back on the horse tonight when they face off against the Vancouver Canucks. This is the second matchup of the season between Dallas and Vancouver, with the Stars taking the first match 4-3 in overtime on a Jamie Benn game winner. The Stars will look to grab the win and retain the title of best team in the NHL.
The game will be broadcasted on Fox Sports Southwest (FSSW) as well as on the NHL Network. It will also be available for listening on 1310AM/96.7FM The Ticket. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
Records and Scores
The Dallas Stars are still flying high throughout the early goings of the 2015-2016 NHL season. With a record of 17-5-0 with 34 points, they are tied for second in the league standings with a game in hand. They drastically fell at the hands of the Ottawa Senators Tuesday night in an ugly 7-4 defeat. But nonetheless they will look to regain momentum tonight. The Stars are 4-1-0 in their last five games.
The Vancouver Canucks have seen better days. After starting the year off so promising, they have only won four of their 12 contests so far in November. With a record of 9-8-6 with 24 points, the Canucks sit third place in the Pacific Division and are close to being overtaken by teams below. Their most recent game comes as a 3-2 win over the Minnesota Wild. The Canucks are 2-2-1 in their last five contests.
Storylines
Stars in danger of being hit with injury bug?
One of the most appalling and disastrous things that occurs with every NHL team throughout each season is the injury bug. It is an uncontrollable force that varies in severity from team to team. For a while, it looked like the Dallas Stars were going to take the blunt end of the deal.
On Saturday night, Jason Demers left the game against the Buffalo Sabres due to a lower-body injury. Luckily, he was only forced to sit one game and will hopefully return to the lineup tonight against Vancouver. Tuesday night, Kari Lehtonen was involved in a collision in the crease and was placed on IR as a result this morning.
Once again on the lucky side, the Stars will only be without the services of Lehtonen for hopefully around a week. Just be thankful that GM Jim Nill took the determined route this past offseason and picked up veteran starter Antti Niemi so that he could aid in situations like this. The Stars are not out of it yet though, and the injury bug is always looking for a way to ruin something.
Canucks struggling to stay afloat in November
The Vancouver Canucks started the season on a somewhat promising note. After posting a record of 5-2-4 through the month of October, the Canucks were towards the top of the Pacific Division. But through the month of November so far, they are 4-6-2. So what is up?
A few things. Not being able to hold onto leads, starting slow, and being unable to finish out third periods are some of the key things holding them back. As a result, the Arizona Coyotes are just one point behind from overtaking third place and are threatening Vancouver with everything they’ve got. The Canucks will look to preserve their lead by defeating Dallas tonight.
Injury report
The Dallas Stars will only be without G Kari Lehtonen (upper body). Everyone else is available to play tonight.
The Vancouver Canucks will be minus the services of C Brandon Sutter (abdominal) and D Ben Hutton (lower body).
Projected lines
Dallas Stars
Jamie Benn – Tyler Seguin – Patrick Sharp
Mattias Janmark – Jason Spezza– Patrick Eaves
Antoine Roussel – Cody Eakin – Valeri Nichushkin
Colton Sceviour – Vernon Fiddler – Ales Hemsky
Alex Goligoski – John Klingberg
Johnny Oduya – Jason Demers
Antti Niemi
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- Dallas Stars look to continue success today against the Maple Leafs
Vancouver Canucks
Daniel Sedin – Henrik Sedin – Jannik Hansen
Chris Higgins – Bo Horvat – Alexandre Burrows
Jake Virtanen – Jared McCann – Radim Vrbata
Brandon Prust – Adam Cracknell – Derek Dorsett
Dan Hamhuis – Yannik Weber
Luca Sbisa – Mark Bartkowski
Next: Stars Busy On Thanksgiving, Recall Campbell and Nemeth
Prediction
The Dallas Stars come back after Thanksgiving with their heads held high and knock off the Vancouver Canucks by a score of 3-1.