Dallas Stars Look to Benefit From Home Ice Against Jets
The Dallas Stars will look to earn a full two-points for the first time in three games tonight as they return home to host the Winnipeg Jets. Puck drop is set for 7:30PM and the game can be seen on Fox Sports Southwest.
Records and Scores
The Dallas Stars (28-10-4) have reached their worst stretch this season going (0-2-1) on their three-game road trip last weekend. They lost to the New York Islanders by a score of 6-2 in a game that saw the Stars’ best players benched. The entire team will look to regroup at home against the Jets tonight.
The Winnipeg Jets (19-19-2) sit at the bottom of the Central Division, but have been making strides to return to the playoff picture. They most recently beat the Nashville Predators Tuesday night 4-1 and will aim to best the Stars in tonight’s game.
Story Lines
Special Teams
Dallas has some of the most talented players in the league right now, but they can’t seem to stay out of the penalty box. Jamie Benn was on the wrong side of calls far too many times over the three-game road trip and it’s on him to get that under control.
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It’s immensely more difficult to establish momentum, much less win games, when starting off killing penalties not even a couple of minutes into the first period.
On the other side of special teams the Stars have had struggles as well. The power play is trying too hard for the perfect pass and the predictability of Dallas’ entries have not gone unnoticed by opposing teams. They’ll have to gain the line, set up, and take some shots at the net if they wish to get their man advantage moving in the right direction.
Stepping Up
The Stars haven’t been the same team they were a month ago since returning from the Christmas break. While it’s unrealistic to expect them to maintain their incredible record from the beginning of the season, it is realistic to expect them to be competitive.
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Puck Prose
Dallas has struggled in nearly every area of their game over their latest stretch and it’s up to the leadership within the locker room to change their mindset. The Stars don’t have confidence in themselves or their teammates right now and that alone could cause their losing streak to continue if it’s not corrected soon.
Their effort tonight will have to be better, especially since head coach Lindy Ruff separated Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin in practice on Wednesday. That should serve as a wake-up call to not only no. 14 and 91, but the team as a whole, a wake-up call that should start with a solid effort tonight.
Injury Report
The Dallas Stars will be without Ales Hemsky (lower body) in tonight’s game.
The Jets will play without Ondrej Pavelec (knee sprain) and Grant Clitsome (back).
Projected Lines
Dallas Stars
Jamie Benn – Jason Spezza – Valeri Nichushkin
Mattias Janmark – Tyler Seguin – Patrick Sharp
Antoine Roussel – Cody Eakin – Colton Sceviour
Travis Moen/Radek Faksa – Vernon Fiddler – Patrick Eaves
Alex Goligoski – John Klingberg
Winnipeg Jets
Drew Stafford – Bryan Little – Blake Wheeler
Andrew Ladd – Adam Lowry – Alex Burmistrov
Mathieu Perreault – Mark Sheifele – Nikolaj Ehlers
Chris Thorburn – Andrew Copp – Joel Armia
Jacob Trouba – Dustin Byfuglien
Tobias Enstrom – Tyler Myers
Mark Stuart – Ben Chiarot
Michael Hutchinson
Connor Hellebuyck
Prediction
The Stars will bounce back with a 4-2 win over the Jets at home.