Dallas Stars look to weather the early afternoon storm at the AAC
By Brian Sweet
The Dallas Stars return home to the American Airlines Center for a rare early afternoon game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. They look to get on a winning streak again after losing in OT to the Calgary Flames on Thursday night. Andrei Vasilevskiy is back from his injury and we might be in for a very good goaltender game Saturday afternoon. This Tampa Bay team is not a team to overlook, they are a physical team that can score goals. Here are the three keys of the game this afternoon for the Stars against the Lightning.
Dallas Stars vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Preview: 3. Attack early
Vasilevskiy is not back to 100% from his injury yet and the Stars need to take advantage since they’ve had issues in the past against them. The Stars can’t let him get settled into the game and have a nice warm cup of tea.
The Stars need to find a way to aggressively attack the net while keeping some players back in case they break out of the zone. The Lightning are known for their quick transitions up the ice. If the Stars can keep it in Tampa’s zone and score some goals, the Stars should be able to win at home this afternoon.
Dallas Stars vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Preview: 2. Shut down Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point
The Stars are going to have their hands full this afternoon covering Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point. They are the Lightning’s top two goal scorers right now going into the matchup with the Stars.
I don’t know how the Stars are going to do it but both players need to be smothered with defense while in the Stars’ zone. If either of them scores against the Stars, it could swing the momentum in their favor. If the Stars can keep them off the scoresheet, they should have good odds of winning the game.
Dallas Stars vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Preview: 1. Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz need to score
You have to give credit to the other teams in the NHL for finding a way to shut down Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson this season. Both players had unreal seasons last year finding the scoresheet often. The Stars are going to need both of them to dig down and find their scoring powers this afternoon. Multiple lines need to produce goals against the Lightning and it would be nice to see Hintz and Robertson possibly produce a goal.