Dallas Stars Look To Continue Hot Streak, Gain Ground Against Canucks

With less than three weeks to go in the 2018-19 regular season, the Dallas Stars are still forging ahead in the race to the postseason. Their next contest comes on Sunday night against a struggling Vancouver Canucks team. The contest gives them a chance to continue their hot streak as well as potentially gain ground.

The Dallas Stars continue their rush to the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Sunday night when they welcome the Vancouver Canucks to the American Airlines Center.

It’s the second game of a five-game homestand for Dallas and comes on the heels of a frustrating 2-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday. Though the Stars put up an admirable effort in the second night of a back-to-back, they fell just short in the third period and walked away empty-handed.

The loss bumped the Dallas Stars back to the first wild card spot after spending 24 hours in the third place spot in the Central division. With that being said, it’s up to the Stars to claw back.

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That claw back can begin on Sunday night against the Canucks.

With Dallas sitting at 37-29-5 with 79 points on the year, they are just two points out of third in the division. They also own a three-point cushion on the playoff wall and sit in the top wild card spot among the five teams racing for the final spots.

On the other hand, the Canucks sit at 29-32-10 with 68 points through 71 games. Up until the last few games, they were involved in the wild card race. But after a 3-6-3 skid over the last month, they find themselves 10 points out of the final spot with 20 days to go in the regular season. With injuries plaguing their lineup and the Vancouver offense slipping (though rookie phenom Elia Pettersson is still putting on a show), the Canucks look destined for another early offseason.

And that’s what makes them so dangerous when going up against a team like the Dallas Stars. They don’t have any bar of expectations to meet and have plenty of talent on their roster to make the game both interesting and challenging.

That’s where the Stars have to be careful.

With the playoffs in sight and the race heating up, these are two more big points for Dallas to fight for. With the St. Louis Blues currently duking it out with the Buffalo Sabres, there’s a chance for the Stars to reclaim third place in the division. It would take a St. Louis regulation loss and a Dallas win, but the opportunity is there.

But even if the Blues do pull a point or two out of their Sunday afternoon contest, it’s a chance for the Dallas Stars to keep pace with the rest of the division. With the wild card race still involving multiple teams, there’s very little room for error. Even though the Stars’ odds of qualifying for the postseason sit north of 90 percent, they haven’t locked themselves in just yet. That’s what the next 11 games are for.

In addition, the Stars will also look to keep a multi-year hot streak building against the Canucks. Through the past 17 games against Vancouver, the Stars are 14-2-1 overall and 7-2-0 when playing at the American Airlines Center. They are also 1-0-0 so far this season after winning a 2-1 game on Dec. 1.

With Ben Bishop still on the mends and Blake Comeau out, the Stars will have to appropriately reshape their lineup and once again lean on Anton Khudobin to carry the load in the crease.

Sunday night offers the Dallas Stars an opportunity to get back on their feet against a struggling team. It’s a chance to continue a hot streak within the franchise while also gaining ground in the sprint to the playoffs.

Next. Stars Fixing Some Of Their Issues During Recent Surge. dark

The only question is: will they find a way to capitalize on it? Or will they sink into their first losing streak since mid-February?

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