Dallas Stars Seek Black Friday Victory Over Calgary Flames

It’s Black Friday here in North America and everyone is out trying to get the best deals. The Dallas Stars, on the other hand, are simply searching for a win against the Calgary Flames. This time, their lineup will look different. Maybe that will lead to positive results.

Tonight will mark the fifth straight year of the Dallas Stars playing in a Black Friday game. Will it also be the third straight year of a Black Friday victory?

In the past two seasons, the Stars have welcomed the Vancouver Canucks to the AAC. Dallas bested the Canucks 3-2 in 2015 and 2-1 in 2016. The two years prior to these victories, the Stars lost 5-4 in OT to the Minnesota Wild in 2014 and 2-1 in the shootout to the Chicago Blackhawks in 2013.

Overall, they are an impressive 2-0-2 on Black Friday at home. Will their win streak stay alive tonight against Calgary?

This is the second time this season that the Dallas Stars and Calgary Flames have met, with Dallas taking the first game 2-1 in Calgary. The Stars received a late power play goal from Alexander Radulov that helped push them into the lead.

Dallas Stars /

Dallas Stars

Since that game, the Stars have posted an average 5-5-1 record. The Flames, on the other hand, boast an impressive 7-3-0 record since the meeting. It seems as though one team has excelled while the other has simply sat in the same position.

That is what makes tonight’s game so important for the Stars. Calgary now sits two points out of the lead in their division and is heating up as a team. Dallas is still struggling to find consistency and put 2+ wins together. If the Stars can knock off the Flames before taking three days off from play, it could help pave the way to a successful end to November.

“We have to stick to our system and stick to the plan,” Stars defenseman Greg Pateryn said. “We have to realize that we’re not going to undance teams. We’re going to have to be committed to getting dirty, garbage goals so I think that is something we need to focus on. Also staying in the red zone in front of the net in both areas. I think if we do that and have a good forecheck, I think we’ll be in good shape.”

The Stars lineup will be looking largely different tonight. Though there are only a few player changes, the lines have been juggled in hopes of increased production.

Martin Hanzal back in lineup

Martin Hanzal is back in the lineup tonight after missing the last two games with a hand injury. Though his numbers don’t show it, the big center has been contributing to the Stars’ success and working hard to better the team.

Julius Honka replacing Jamie Oleksiak

After posting a -2 on-ice rating on Wednesday night in Colorado to bring his total to a career-worst -6, Jamie Oleksiak will serve as the healthy scratch tonight. Julius Honka will be back in the lineup, filling in the right side on the third pairing with Stephen Johns.

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Honka has not performed much better than Oleksiak, but has done it at a much smaller sampling size. He has played six games with Dallas this season, tallying no points and a -4 rating. Honka was sent back down to the Texas Stars at the end of October simply for the purpose of getting more playing time instead of sitting in the press box.

“It’s a little bit of adjustment to take a look at things,” Hitchcock said. “We feel like we’re playing real well right now, but can we can quicken up our transition and get the puck into the forwards hands a little quicker. It seems that that’s where this league has gone now. We have a player who plays like that so we want to see if he can give us a chance to get the puck into easier transition mode and not get us bogged down as much.”

Honka, who is known for being an offensive defenseman, is still searching for his first point of the season. We’ll see what he brings to the lineup tonight against a powerful Calgary offense and if it is enough to establish his spot as a starter.

Lines juggled

Hitchcock went with a different look at this morning’s skate. Here is how the Dallas offense and defense lined up.

Devin Shore – Jamie Benn – Alexander Radulov

Mattias Janmark – Tyler Seguin – Jason Spezza

Antoine Roussel – Radek Faksa – Tyler Pitlick

Gemel Smith – Martin Hanzal – Brett Ritchie

Esa Lindell – John Klingberg

Dan Hamhuis – Greg Pateryn

Stephen Johns – Julius Honka

The main change is the flipping of the first and second left wingers. We’ll see if it brings any sort of outbreak on offense.

The Dallas Stars (11-10-1) and Calgary Flames (12-8-1) will meet for the second of three times tonight in Dallas. A lot is on the line for both teams and both have something to prove.

“Just play our game and focus on what we do well,” goaltender Ben Bishop said about what the Stars need to do to win tonight. “Just come out and do the things we need to do and kind of worry about ourselves and not necessarily worry about what they’re going to do.”

Next: Stargazing: Five Takeaways From The First Quarter Of Season

Bishop will make his third consecutive start and fifth consecutive appearance in net. Jere Lehtinen’s no. 26 will also be retired before the game. And as always, the Dallas Stars’ Black Friday game will be something to keep an eye on.

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