Dallas Stars: What They Must Do To Sweep Their Upcoming Road Trip

3 of 5

DALLAS, TX – NOVEMBER 10: New York Islanders Center Mathew Barzal (13) plays a puck between Dallas Stars Left Wing Jamie Benn (14) and Defenceman Dan Hamhuis (2) during the NHL hockey game between the New York Islanders and Dallas Stars on November 10, 2017 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX. (Photo by Andrew Dieb/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Wednesday Night: @ New York Islanders

NYI record this year: 16-10-3

Last five vs. Stars: 3-2-0

Two days after the bout at MSG, the Stars will travel to Brooklyn to take on the New York Islanders at the Barclays Center.

The Islanders, like Dallas, have started the season on a “little above average” note. They are holding their own and sitting in the first wild card spot, but there is always room for improvement. The Stars know that, and so do the Islanders. Both teams will be looking for that improvement on Wednesday night.

New York Islanders /

New York Islanders

The Islanders are one of the most unbalanced teams in the league. Their offense is putting up an insane 3.55 goals per game (second in the NHL), but their defense is slowing them down by giving up 3.37 goals per game (third in the NHL). Can you say 2014-15 Dallas Stars?

It is putting the Islanders in a bit of an awkward position as they try and move forward in their season. This should fare well for a Dallas offense that knows how to score, but could cause problems for a shaky Stars defense if they are not confident going into the game.

The Stars and Islanders will meet up for the second and final time this season on Wednesday night. Their first meeting went heavily in favor of Dallas by a final score of 5-0. The Stars put up three goals in a little over a 15-minute span in the first period and never looked back. They made their shots count, with five different Stars scoring on 29 total shots.

The defense also held strong, giving up a season-low 14 shots against and granting Ben Bishop an easy path to his first shutout as a Dallas Star.

The Islanders strung together a four-game win streak to close out November, but have dropped four of their first five games in December. That being said, they have a lot of similarities with Dallas in terms of consistently being inconsistent.

It’s not going to be an easy game to navigate since both teams will be searching for a way to get back on track. But if the Stars can bring a similar effort as they did in their last matchup and overpower the Islanders in the head-to-head battles, they have a good chance to make it two in a row (assuming they beat NYR).

Home/Editorials