Last night was not a pretty start to the road trip for the Dallas Stars as they fell to the Carolina Hurricanes. But they will have to rebound quickly if they want to continue their longstanding success against the Panthers.
It’s time for the Dallas Stars to rebound quickly and right the ship.
At 6:30 p.m. tonight, the Stars will square off against the Florida Panthers at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, FL. The team might be tired or sluggish, but they will have to put that behind them and keep focusing on what is in front of them.
Last night was unkind to Dallas. They traveled to Carolina to take on the Hurricanes and kick off a three-game road trip. Their road performance has been subpar this year, posting a record of 3-5-0. But the team had just come off of a 5-0 smacking of the New York Islanders on Friday evening at home and had plenty of confidence.
That confidence evaporated quickly, though, as the Hurricanes took control of the game. Carolina tacked on more pressure and strength as the game went on and punished a Stars team that looked unprepared and effortless. Carolina rolled away with a 5-1 victory, pushing Dallas to an average record of 9-8-0 on the season overall.
Dallas Stars
It’s a tough pill to swallow, but the Stars have no time to dwell on the loss. They have to be prepared to face a bitter Panthers team sitting near the bottom of the NHL standings tonight. Dallas is 1-1-0 in the second night of a back-to-back this season. The team has proven that they are resilient even in times of excessive play, so don’t count them out tonight. This is a struggling team that the Stars are facing and they should have a bit of a chip on their shoulder from last night.
In addition to that, the Dallas Stars seem to really like playing the Florida Panthers, especially on the road. If history says anything, it’s that Dallas has a pretty good chance at winning this game.
Over the history of the two franchises meeting, things are about as even as they can get. According to Hockey-Reference, the Stars own a 15-12-3-3 record all-time against the Panthers. They have scored 93 goals for and given up 91 goals.
The two teams always seem to put up a good fight, especially in the recent past. But when it comes to Stars-Panthers in Sunrise, it’s almost all Dallas in the recent past.
Over the past five meetings at the BB&T Center, the Stars have come away victorious in four. They won last year’s matchup in a thrilling 2-1 finish. In 2015-16, the Stars won 4-2. The year before that, the 4-3 shootout win was a part of the Dallas playoff push in Marc that ended up falling just short.
It’s starting to become a longstanding tradition for Dallas to claim victory against the Panthers on the road. Maybe it’s the warm weather or the beaches. Whatever it is, it works for the Stars.
Things are still up in the air as to what tonight will entail. In one corner, the Stars should be bitter from last night’s embarrassment and be looking for justification. In the other corner, the Panthers are dead last in the Eastern Conference and need something to spark them back to life.
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Something’s gotta give tonight at the BB&T cCenter. Will history stay on the Dallas Stars’ side, or are they in for another painful losing streak to continue their mediocre year? Find out at 6:30 p.m.