Dallas Stars Face Back-To-Back Challenge vs. Blackhawks
The Dallas Stars rallied from an early 0-2 deficit last night in Minneapolis to defeat the Minnesota Wild 6-3. They hitched a flight late last night and will take on the Chicago Blackhawks at home tonight. Get all the latest info about the game here.
The Dallas Stars looked almost self-destructive early on Monday night when they fell in an 0-2 hole against the Minnesota Wild. But, as they always seem to do against the Wild, they revived their play and tallied six goals on the board to take the 6-3 victory. They will now face off with the Chicago Blackhawks tonight in the second leg of a back-to-back. This is the first of five meetings between the Central Division rivals.
The game will be broadcasted on Fox Sports Southwest Plus (FSSW+), and you can also hear it on 1310AM/96.7FM The Ticket. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX.
Records and Scores
The Dallas Stars continue to score goals upon goals, and it continues to translate into wins. They currently own a record of 25-7-2 on the season with 52 points. That puts them in a tie for first place with the Washington Capitals for the NHL’s best record. Their most recent game comes as a 6-3 blowout win against the Minnesota Wild last night. They are 3-2-0 in their last five games.
The Chicago Blackhawks meanwhile are on a tear of their own. With a record of 20-11-4 and 44 points, the Blackhawks sit second in the Central Division, just behind the Dallas Stars. Their most recent game comes as a 4-3 overtime victory against the San Jose Sharks on Sunday. They are 4-1-0 in their last five games.
Storylines
The ultimate reunion could get ugly
The Dallas Stars and Chicago Blackhawks will be meeting up for the first time this season. Since both teams moved to the Central Division, sparks always seem to fly when they get together. But now, there is another significant piece in play. For the first time ever, the Stars will face off against former Star Ryan Garbutt. On a similar note, the Hawks will take on longtime Blackhawks Johnny Oduya and Patrick Sharp, who are both now members of the Stars.
The only problem is, it may not be as joyous of a reconciliation as fans might be hoping for. The fact of the matter is that the Stars and Blackhawks are never on friendly terms. The two teams become ultimate enemies when on the ice squaring off. It’s an intense and fast-paced battle between the offensive juggernauts of both squads.
As a member of the Stars, Ryan Garbutt was known for his physical nature and his dedication to drop the gloves with any opponent who needed a good beatdown. While his emotions may be flaring for the team that ultimately gave him his NHL start, he must remain dedicated to his new club and potentially get in a scruff with an old teammate. It will be a battle of emotions and the wills of three different players tonight, and we’ll have to see which ones counter best.
Let’s stop the streak, shall we?
Patrick Kane has been making hockey headlines all season for one of the greatest point streaks in history. From October 17th to December 15th, Patrick Kane broke multiple records as he accumulated a 26 game point streak. That is near unheard of. The Colorado Avalanche finally put the streak to rest when they shutout the Hawks 3-0 on the 15th.
Since then, Kane has put together a new streak. He is now at three straight games with a point and will look to make it four with a point against Dallas tonight. Wouldn’t it be nice to stop Kane in his tracks tonight? We’ll have to wait and see, but the Dallas Stars have the tools necessary to take him down.
Who will start?
It’s a rather interesting scenario for the Dallas Stars tonight. In taking on a hungry (but not hungry enough) Minnesota team last night, the Stars used both of their goaltenders. Kari Lehtonen only played the first few minutes and was a near mess from the get-go. He gave up two very weak goals on just four shots and was taken from the game just 8:16 into the first period.
Antti Niemi played the relief game and put together a wonderful performance, stopping 30 of 31. With his hot streak and Lehtonen’s apparent cold streak, will Ruff give Niemi the start? Or will he allow Niemi to rest and trust Lehtonen with the Blackhawks high-octane offense?
Injury report
As luck would have it, the Dallas Stars are injury-free for tonight’s game and hopefully many more games to come.
The Chicago Blackhawks will be minus the services of RW Marian Hossa (upper body) and C Marcus Kruger (wrist).
Projected lines
Dallas Stars
Jamie Benn – Tyler Seguin – Patrick Sharp
Valeri Nichushkin – Jason Spezza – Ales Hemsky
Antoine Roussel – Cody Eakin – Colton Sceviour
Mattias Janmark – Vernon Fiddler – Patrick Eaves
Alex Goligoski – John Klingberg
Johnny Oduya – Jason Demers
Antti Niemi
Kari Lehtonen
More from Blackout Dallas
- Dallas Stars Traverse City Tournament: Who had great performances?
- Grushnikov and Stankoven lead Dallas Stars to 6-3 win over Columbus
- Dallas Stars prospects look to wrap up tournament with a win
- Burn the tapes: Dallas Stars prospects lose 5-1 to Toronto Maple Leafs
- Dallas Stars look to continue success today against the Maple Leafs
Chicago Blackhawks
Artemi Panarin – Artem Anisimov – Patrick Kane
Teuvo Teravainen – Jonathan Toews – Andrew Shaw
Bryan Bickell – Dennis Rasmussen – Brandon Mashinter
Andrew Desjardins – Phillip Danault – Ryan Garbutt
Duncan Keith – Trevor van Riemsdyk
Niklas Hjalmarsson – Brent Seabrook
Prediction
The Dallas Stars put it all out on the ice last night, giving every ounce of effort they had to fend off the Minnesota Wild. Meanwhile, the Chicago Blackhawks had a day off to rest and prepare for a now-weary Stars team.
Next: Dallas Stars Come From Behind, Crush Wild 6-3
But this team has something magical about them. As a result, I have the Stars winning this one 5-4 in overtime. Book it.