The Dallas Stars will open up their 2019 slate tonight with a matchup against the New Jersey Devils. It’s another home game against a team riding a recent hot streak and another chance to gain ground in an ever-tightening playoff race.
Wednesday night will serve as the halfway point of the 2018-19 campaign for the Dallas Stars. It’s game 41 and, as always, the stakes are high.
The Stars will square off with the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night. It’s the second and final meeting between the two teams this year, with the Devils claiming the first one by a score of 3-0 back in October. But this time around, there’s a new weight to the game.
It’s the halfway point of the season in the NHL. Teams are beginning to take on their own specific identities and show the rest of the hockey world just what kind of group they are. Subpar teams are beginning to sink down the standings and true Stanley Cup challengers are surging at the top. But in the middle, there are a handful of teams still making a last ditch effort to go one way or the other.
That’s where the Stars and Devils sit. Dallas is 20-16-4 (44 points) and currently possesses the second wild card spot in the Western Conference. Meanwhile, the Devils sit 15-16-7 (37 points) and are a threatening 10 points out of the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. It’s not an impossible gap to close with half of the season to go, but there’s no time to delay.
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At the moment, the Stars may look to be in the better position. They seem to be trending upward while the Devils have a long ways to go if they want to catch up with a rolling Eastern Conference. And yet, that’s all the more reason to pay attention to tonight’s game.
The Devils are in a position where it’s make-or-break time. They are a humbling 4-12-3 on the road this year and are second-to-last in their division. Their defense is giving up 3.29 goals per game while the offense is scoring 2.97. Their penalty kill (84.8 percent) is one of the best in the NHL while their power play (19.5 percent) is middle-range.
And yet, they are in a seriously deep hole in the standings. Part of this has to do with the fact that a good chunk of teams in the East have surged through the first half of the season. But, another half has to do with the fact the Devils were in last place in the Eastern Conference at the end of November. Had it not been for a 6-5-2 performance in December, they could very well still be at the bottom. Heck, only three points separate them from the spot right now.
But a late surge to close out the year did the Devils good and helped them hop up the ladder. They are currently riding a three-game win streak and are 4-1-0 in their past five contests. Not only that, but they have outscored their past three opponents (Boston, Carolina, and Vancouver) by a score of 11-2. That includes two shutouts for rookie Mackenzie Blackwood.
Blackwood, 22, made his NHL debut on Dec. 18, 2018. With Cory Schneider on injured reserve, the rookie stepped in and took on a big role. And so far, the results have been admirable.
The young goaltender is 3-1-0 in six appearances this season and owns a .962 save percentage and 1.25 goals against average. He’s done his part in not only holding down the fort in Schneider’s absence, but also picking up important points for the Devils.
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That’s a major point of emphasis to watch for in tonight’s game. The Dallas Stars are coming off of a 3-2 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens in which they took 47 shots but ultimately came up short at the hands of Antti Niemi. The Dallas offense has looked better in recent games, but will face another tough test tonight.
“This goalie is seeing the puck really well for two games in a row, so we have to get to the net front,” said head coach Jim Montgomery. “Things that we’ve been working on, and we have gotten better offensively. Even though maybe the results aren’t there yet on the scoreboard, we have become a better offensive team from our own end right through to the offensive end.
“So, hopefully we can continue getting rebound chances like we have lately. That’s how you get through to a goaltender that’s really hot and a team that is playing real good team defense.”
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In lineup news, Brett Ritchie will serve as the healthy scratch and Tyler Pitlick will draw back into the lineup.
“ Pitlick is back in,” Montgomery confirmed. “He’s got a new baby girl and he’s ready to be a hockey player again, so that’s awesome.”
Pitlick was forced to miss the game on New Year’s Eve when his wife went into labor a few minutes before the puck dropped.
“Well, he came in and it was right before warmups,” said Montgomery. “It was pretty funny because he really wanted to play. He was thinking about, like, ‘Can you hold for three hours?,’ but I said, ‘You need to go.’ But, that’s what you love about Tyler. He loves the game but you also love that he’s such a good dad and a good husband.”
Pitlick has scored a goal in each of his past three starts. He was the only player to score against the Islanders, scored the Stars’ second and final goal against Nashville, and contributed to the offensive onslaught against the Red Wings on Saturday night. These performances came after Pitlick was scratched for the game against Minnesota (his home state) on Dec. 22.
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“I think he’s skating with tremendous confidence; he’s skating with purpose,” Montgomery said of Pitlick. “He’s going through people when he has the puck and absorbing hits to make plays. That’s leading to odd-man rushes for us and him getting second-chance opportunities.”
“We need a little more sandpaper to our game, and he’s brought that since then,” Montgomery added.
In addition, Ben Bishop will get his third start in a row and first against the Devils this season. In his past five starts, he is 3-1-1 with a .947 save percentage.
The Stars ran with this lineup in morning skate:
Jamie Benn – Tyler Seguin – Alexander Radulov
Mattias Janmark – Devin Shore – Jason Spezza
Blake Comeau – Radek Faksa – Tyler Pitlick
Valeri Nichushkin – Roope Hintz – Denis Gurianov
Ben Bishop
The Devils need a win to stay afloat. The Stars need a win to keep their own hot streak rolling (3-1-1 in their past five games) and start the new year off on a confident note. They could also use it to potentially gain ground in the playoff race and create some breathing room. A win could bump them into the top three in the Central division. A loss could remove them from the playoff picture, depending on how other games play out tonight.
But perhaps the most intriguing storyline of the night is that the Dallas Stars will not win on defense alone. They have succeeded in doing that in games past, but this is a new animal. It’s a goaltender riding a hot streak and a team playing solid defense in front of him. Offense will be a necessity if the Stars expect to come away with two points to ring in 2019.
Can the Dallas offense show up again and solve the goaltender this time around?