The Dallas Stars go on a local duck hunt tonight against the Anaheim Ducks

We are close to the NHL All-Star Game break with two games remaining on the schedule. The first one is tonight as the Dallas Stars host the Anaheim Ducks at the American Airlines Center. After barely holding on to the skin of their teeth against the Detroit Red Wings, the Stars look to go into the break on a winning streak. However, the Ducks would like to pull off the upset on the road. Here are the three keys of the game for the Stars tonight if they want to beat the Ducks.

Dallas Stars vs. Anaheim Ducks: 3. Help Miro Heiskanen ease back into play

If Miro Heiskanen returns to action tonight against the Ducks, the Stars must take the workload off of him. They can do this by helping him by clearing the puck out of the Stars' zone. We will talk more about this below, but the Stars need to help out Heiskanen. I'm not expecting him to be 100% in his first game back. If the Stars can take on his workload, they should be able to beat the Ducks tonight.

Dallas Stars vs. Anaheim Ducks: 2. Shut down Frank Vatrano

The Stars must shut down Frank Vatrano tonight if they want any chance of winning. He has 21 goals and 34 assists going into the game against the Stars tonight. The Stars need to watch him, especially in the Stars' zone tonight. They cannot allow him to touch the puck around Jake Oettinger. He is a crafty player that distributes the puck to his linemates. If the Stars can shut him down tonight and not find the scoresheet, they can receive two points at home.

Dallas Stars vs. Anaheim Ducks: 1. Don't allow an extra-man goal tonight

The one thing that drove Stars' fans crazy against the Red Wings was that the Stars' penalty kill was non-existent. Every goal the Stars allowed against the Red Wings was on the power play or with the goalie pulled. The Stars have to get back on track with their solid penalty kill by not allowing the Ducks to score on their power play attempts. If the Stars can shut down the Ducks on the power play, the Stars should beat the Ducks tonight.

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