Dallas Stars Drilling For Points Against Edmonton
The Dallas Stars look to start back on another winning streak at the expense of the Oilers tonight in Edmonton. Get all your pregame info below!
Lindy’s line-juggling paid off again last night as the Stars downed the Canucks 4-2 in Vancouver, despite the Canucks scoring first only 56 seconds in. This win distances them from the shootout loss against the Flames and sets them back on track for the last game of their four game roadtrip against the Edmonton Oilers.
Don’t miss puck drop at 8:00 CT at Rexall Place. The game will be broadcasted on Fox Sports Southwest Plus (FSSW+) and can be listened to on 1310 AM/96.7 FM The Ticket.
Records and Scores
With their last win in Vancouver, the Stars advance to a 11-2-1 road record and become the first NHL team to hit 20 wins this season. Still sitting at the top of the Central with a 20-5-1 record, the Stars are yet against tied for first in the league with the Canadiens, who also boasts 41 points although the Stars have a game in hand.
The Oilers currently occupy last place in the West and also in the league with 20 points in their 26 games played. Their 9-15-2 record leaves a little to be desired, with one of those losses coming from the Stars in their only prior season meeting.
Storylines
Line Dancing With the Stars
The Stars suffered a tough, what goes around comes around kind of loss to the Flames after shutting them out for most of the game. Afterwards, Lindy Ruff expressed some regret at having not shuffled up the lines in the same productive way he had against the Wild. Far be it from Ruff to make the same mistake twice.
Two of last night’s goal scorers, Valeri Nichushkin and Patrick Sharp, who both opened and closed out the Star’s victory, were a part of that line switch. Nichushkin was incorporated into the top line with Benn and Seguin, and Sharp was moved to the Roussel and Eakin line.
And it definitely paid off. So will we see more line dancing tonight with the Stars? No thing is a sure thing, but I’d say it’s rather probable.
Going Steady
Both the Stars and Oilers have struggled with consistency to different extents this season. With the Stars, we see it in sporadic late-game collapses, and the Oilers have had trouble finding their desired role as game closers.
The Stars have shown they can bounce back, though, as they have yet to lose consecutive games this season. Even the bad losses seem to jar them back to play as the winning team they have fought to be.
The Oilers have been up and down; most recently they endured a 3-0shutout loss to Toronto and followed it up with a 3-2 shootout with against the Bruins to snap their five game win streak.
So if it’s one thing the Stars and Oilers have in common, it’s that they can struggle to find consistency in their game. With both teams coming off of a win, tonight’s game will come down to who can keep the winning mentality for 60 minutes.
Injury Report
With Kari Lehtonen back from IR, the only injured player currently for the Stars is Jason Demers, who suffered an upper body injury against the Flames. However, he is expected to be back in the line-up for tonight’s game
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Missing from the Oiler’s bench will be Connor McDavid (clavicle), Rob Klinkhammer (undisclosed), Nail Yakupov (ankle sprain), Brandon Davidson (undisclosed), and Benoit Pouliot (undisclosed).
Projected Lines
Dallas Stars
Jamie Benn – Tyler Seguin – Valeri Nichushkin
Mattias Janmark – Jason Spezza – Patrick Eaves
Antoine Roussel – Cody Eakin – Patrick Sharp
Colton Sceviour – Vernon Fiddler – Ales Hemsky
Alex Goligoski – John Klingberg
Johnny Oduya – Jason Demers
Patrik Nemeth – Jordie Benn
Kari Lehtonen
Edmonton Oilers
Taylor Hall – Leon Draisaitl – Jordan Eberle
Teddy Purcell – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Iiro Pakarinen
Matt Hendricks – Mark Letestu – Lauri Korpikoski
Luke Gazdic – Anton Lander – Jujhar Khaira
Next: Dallas Stars December: Reasons for Season Cheer
Predictions
Even though both teams are riding the high from a win, the Dallas Stars will want the win more. The Stars will hit their stride and find consistency tonight, downing the Oilers 5-2.