Dallas Stars: What They Must Do To Sweep Their Upcoming Road Trip
By Josh Clark
Monday Night: @ New York Rangers
NYR record this year: 16-11-2
Last five vs. Stars: 3-2-0
The Stars’ journey to a perfect road trip begins tonight at Madison Square Garden. It won’t be easy, though, as Dallas will go up against one of the hottest teams in the NHL right now.
The Rangers are 7-2-0 in their last nine games and 12-4-0 since November 1. They are rolling with a lot of confidence and hitting their stride. They own one of the highest goal total averages in the NHL at 3.34, which is good enough for sixth in the league. Their defense averages 2.96 goals against per game, which is a bit high, but their offense has been able to compensate.
Dallas Stars
New York is currently sitting just one point outside of the Eastern Conference playoff picture with 34 points. They trail the Pittsburgh Penguins, but have two games in hand to work with. They will spend one of those tonight against Dallas.
The Rangers started the season looking like a sad shell of what they have looked like over the past few seasons. They began the season at a 2-6-2 record and could not seem to keep the opposition below 3-4 goals per game.
But their luck seems to have turned at the right moment, and things are starting to look up. Michael Grabner is pacing the team with 14 goals while Mats Zuccarello leads the team with 24 points.
The Stars have struggled in the recent past against the Rangers, but seem to find relative success when at Madison Square Garden. Last season, they won a 7-6 shootout at MSG after squandering multiple three-goal leads.
Tonight, Dallas will be back in NYC for another round with the Rangers. Here are some keys to a potential victory:
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Kari Lehtonen needs to be on
The Dallas Stars are leaning on the hand of Kari Lehtonen for the second time in three games tonight. After starter Ben Bishop sacrificed four goals on 38 shots to Vegas on Saturday, Hitchcock will go with the backup route.
Lehtonen has put up good numbers considering the situations he has been put in this season. He has a .903 save percentage and 2.71 goals against average while mainly having to provide a safety net for a struggling Stars team in front of him.
Against the Rangers, he is 7-6-1 all-time with a .922 save percentage and 2.53 GAA. He’s proven to be a capable net-minder in times of crisis this season and should give the Stars a chance to take some momentum and control the game.
But it’s only if he is on. Lehtonen can sometimes be a “hit or miss” goalie between the pipes, so a lot will rely on his focus and composure against a high-powered Rangers offense.
Ondrej Pavelec needs to be off
There is something really odd about the Dallas Stars’ 2017-18 season in regards to the goaltenders they face. On some nights, they will take it to a starting goaltender and even force a goalie change. But when they go up against a backup, things seem to tilt in the wrong direction.
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Take two of the past three games for example. In the games against both Nashville and Vegas, the Stars went up against a backup goaltender. Specifically against Vegas, the Stars took on a fourth-string goaltender. The average save percentage of the two goaltenders was a .940.
The Stars put up a total of 84 shots against these two teams but came away with zero points. A large part of their losses were due to the superb play of the opposing goalies.
Dallas needs to figure out how to put up goals on backup goaltenders and they need to figure it out quick. Tonight, they will face Ondrej Pavelec, the backup to Henrik Lundqvist. If the Stars can crack him early, they might have a chance at keeping the lead and putting these backup goalie worries to rest.
Overall
If the Stars can come out of the gate with confidence, focus, and energy, they should have a chance at making this Monday night show work in their favor. It all depends on if they can bring back the effort from their five-game win streak. That’s the key.