Dallas Stars Aiming To Shift Central Division Standings Against Wild
By Josh Clark
The regular season hits another critical juncture tonight as the Dallas Stars welcome the Minnesota Wild to town. It’s the final game in a season-long homestand and has the potential to significantly shift the Central division standings.
The Dallas Stars haven’t played a hockey game outside of the state of Texas since Jan. 10, 2019.
This extended stay at home has been due to not only a 10-day break for the Stars that included the CBA-mandated break and the 2019 All-Star Break , but also to a season-long homestand. The Stars have played their last five games on home ice and will wrap it up with a sixth tonight against the Minnesota Wild. And with the way things are lining up, the game couldn’t be much bigger.
“Yeah, I think so,” said Stars defenseman John Klingberg when asked if tonight’s contest felt like a playoff game. “I think all of the games that’s coming up here is going to be like a playoff game. When you look at the standings, they’re one point ahead of us with the same amount of games. It’s probably the most important game so far this season.”
“It’s a huge game,” said head coach Jim Montgomery. “We talked about what our process and our game plan is. Playing to that will hopefully give us that result to be in third place by the end of tonight.”
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The Stars will welcome the Wild to the American Airlines Center tonight to kick off their February slate. It’s the third meeting of the season between the two clubs, with Minnesota claiming the first contest 3-1 back in October and Dallas picking up a 2-1 overtime win in December. Both games were low-scoring, defensive battles. Tonight should prove to be no different.
“It’s going to be the exact same game,” said Klingberg. “We kind of know them inside and out and they know us inside and out as well. I know they’re going to play a heavy forecheck game as well and they’re gonna try to create their scoring chances around the net. They’ve got heavy forwards there and are always trying to jam the net and play good defense as well. It’s going to be a tight game for sure.”
“Just how hard the games are physically,” Montgomery added. “You have to fight for every inch. Similar style teams and just how important the net front is.”
This is a crucial game for a few different reasons. For one, it’s a “four-point game” considering the Central division matchup. On another hand, it’s a chance for the Stars to close out their homestand with a third consecutive win.
But finally, and perhaps more important than all other factors, it’s a chance for the Dallas Stars to hop back into the third place in the Central division.
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With the way the NHL playoff format is laid out, the top three teams from each division qualify for the postseason as well as two wild card teams. While the wild card race is typically a brutal one with many teams involved, holding and defending a top-three spot in the division comes with a certain sense of motivation.
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As of Friday morning, the Wild sit in third place in the Central with 55 points in 50 games played. The Stars? 54 points in the same number of games. Tonight’s game not only offers an opportunity for Dallas to vault over Minnesota and into the top three, but it also provides the Wild a chance to create more space between themselves and the wild card race. So, there’s a lot on the table.
“I think the motivation is there, for sure,” Klingberg said. “To handle the pressure is something that we are going through as a team still. But, I think we really found something against LA in the third period and we were good against Winnipeg and we came back after the break ready to go right away; obviously, we wanted to score more goals. But, I think we found a way to win that last game and we did a pretty good job.”
The Dallas Stars are coming off of a 1-0 win against the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday night. It was the Stars’ first game after their extended bye week, but they found a way to get the job done. Though it wasn’t the prettiest overall effort, the team made it count with an early goal from Jamie Benn and held the line for the rest of the game. That win sets them up for a chance to leap over a Minnesota Wild team that hasn’t competed since Jan. 23.
“I think we were ready to go last game and that’s what we’re going to be tonight as well,” Klingberg said. “So, why change anything? I think we’re going to come out with a jump and they’re playing their first game, so we kind of may want to surprise them a little bit even if they’re probably going to be ready as well. We can only control what we do with ourselves and we’ve got to come out jumping.”
The game will come with some lineup changes, as the Stars will have to adapt to life without center Jason Dickinson. Dickinson exited Wednesday night’s contest in the third period after suffering an apparent lower-body injury. Following the game, it was determined that he would miss the next two contests.
In his absence, Jason Spezza will shift back to the center role and Valeri Nichushkin will slot back into the lineup. It’s Nichushkin’s first game since Jan. 15 against the Tampa Bay Lightning and will be his 38th game of the 2018-19 season.
“Looking for him to play a relentless style of game, to be heavy on pucks, and to be very responsible without it,” said Montgomery of Nichushkin’s return to the lineup.
Here is how the Dallas Stars are expected to line up:
Jamie Benn – Radek Faksa – Blake Comeau
Mattias Janmark – Tyler Seguin – Alexander Radulov
Andrew Cogliano – Jason Spezza – Valeri Nichushkin
Denis Gurianov – Roope Hintz – Brett Ritchie
Esa Lindell – John Klingberg
This is the same lineup (minus Dickinson) that the Stars have used over the past two games. It’s a lineup that has given Dallas speed as well as a four-line approach. Having all four lines clicking will be critical as they start the first leg of a back-to-back against Central division opponents (they will be in Nashville on Saturday night).
“Against Minnesota, what I’ve seen, you have to be able to roll all four,” Montgomery said. “Very patient team and tonight, it’s very important that we roll all four because we have a back-to-back with travel.”
In addition, Ben Bishop will start in goal for Dallas after stopping all 30 shots faced against Buffalo on Wednesday. It marked his third shutout of the 2018-19 regular season and gave him a second consecutive victory.
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Tonight’s game offers the Dallas Stars an opportunity to reclaim third place in the division. The final 32 games come with plenty of shifts and juggling in the standings and in the playoff race. There’s no better time for that shifting to occur than in a divisional showdown between two teams that are neck-and-neck.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.