Dallas Stars Switching Up Lineup Against Penguins Will Pay Off

The Dallas Stars are back home for a three-game homestand after a brief trip up north. They will aim for their fifth win in a row tonight against a red-hot Pittsburgh Penguins team. The lineup looks a bit different, but that should play to the Stars’ advantage.

Friday night is always a fun time. It’s even more exciting when it involves two red-hot teams like the Dallas Stars and Pittsburgh Penguins.

And that’s exactly what we have in front of us tonight. The Stars are back in town after a short trip up north to Chicago. After downing the Blackhawks 4-2 last night, Dallas is back home to kick off a three-game homestand. They start things off tonight against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

It’s an exciting time for Big D in terms of hockey. The Stars have won four games in a row, are 32-19-4 on the year with 68 points, and own sole possession of the first wild card spot in the Western Conference. They are also within striking distance of all three of the top spots in the Central Division. If they keep playing as they have recently, they should have no trouble at jumping into the top three.

But they face quite the challenge tonight. The Penguins (30-22-3) come into town riding an impressive streak of their own. They are 5-1-0 in their last six games and 10-3-0 in their last 13. The defending Stanley Cup champions have catapulted themselves from playoff hopefuls to second place in the Metropolitan Division in a matter of weeks. They are playing some incredible hockey as of late and will arguably give the Stars their toughest test of the past two or three weeks.

Dallas Stars

In addition to that, the Dallas Stars will go with a different look to the lineup in tonight’s game. After last night’s victorious affair, the Stars will substitute Julius Honka out for Dillon Heatherington on defense and put Jason Dickinson in for Martin Hanzal (who is injured). They will also go with Kari Lehtonen as the starting goaltender.

You might wonder why Stars head coach Ken Hitchcock is switching up the lineup after four straight wins with the same setup. But in all reality, it’s a good move by Hitchcock.

The fact of the matter is that constantly keeping all players fluctuating in and out of the lineup keeps them warm and active. A player’s shelf life as the healthy scratch can only go for so long before they start to lose energy and focus. Hitchcock is doing the right thing by subbing them in and out on a consistent basis.

Putting Dickinson and Heatherington gives the Stars some extra size on both sides of the puck. The Penguins are a big team that can use their size to control the puck and limit opportunities, so it will be beneficial for Dallas to have some bigger bodies in the corners and on the blue line.

Kari Lehtonen is also aiming for his fifth win in a row. The Big Finn has been nothing short of phenomenal in his last four games, posting a .954 save percentage and giving up only five total goals over the span. A win tonight would bump his streak to five, which would mark his longest win streak since November 2015.

The Dallas Stars will also play on short rest after arriving home from Chicago at around 3:30 a.m. this morning. They have done well in the recent past in the second game of back-to-backs, so we’ll see how well that success translates tonight.

Jamie Oleksiak will also be visiting the Stars for the first time since the organization traded him away in mid-December of this season. It will be interesting to see how he fits in with his new team and what his new role is on the Pittsburgh blue line.

The Stars can give themselves sole control of third place in the Central Division with a win and a Blues loss to the Jets tonight. They are 5-1-0 in their last six games against the Penguins, but this game brings a different vibe. Both teams need the two points to improve their position in the standings, so it’s promising to be a good one.

Next: 3 Reasons The Stars Should Stay Quiet At 2018 Trade Deadline

It’s a high-flying offense versus a lockdown defense. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. from the  American Airlines Center. You won’t want to miss it.