The Dallas Stars are still shocked from the loss against the Florida Panthers Tuesday night. With Colorado taking over first place in the Central Division, the Stars must focus on the basics against the New Jersey Devils. The Devils are playing for a decent lottery pick after letting go of Lindy Ruff. The Stars can't let up tonight in the third period against a team with nothing to lose. Here are the three keys of the game tonight for the Stars against the Devils.
Dallas Stars vs. New Jersey Devils: 3. Don't let up in the third period
The Stars can't let their foot off the gas pedal in the third period tonight against the Devils. They must play all 60 minutes tonight to avoid Tuesday's mistake again. It will be interesting to see how Jake Oettinger does against the Devils tonight after his blunder on Tuesday. He usually does well the next game after losing to an opponent. Scott Wedgewood will be on standby tonight if Oettinger is still in a funk from Tuesday.
Dallas Stars vs. New Jersey Devils: 2. Shut down Jesper Bratt
The Stars must shut down Jesper Bratt if they want any chance of winning tonight's game against the Devils. He has 22 goals and 42 assists going into tonight's game against the Stars. Chris Tanev's main goal tonight will make sure Bratt doesn't have the puck around Oettinger. Bratt is a crafty player who would love to disrupt the Stars getting back into the divisional race. If the Stars can shut down Bratt tonight, they have a good shot of winning tonight's game against the Devils.
Dallas Stars vs. New Jersey Devils: 1. Score on the power play
Hopefully, the Stars drew up a new power play strategy with the day off yesterday. They cannot afford to go scoreless on the power play against the Devils. They must make the Devils pay for their errors. The Stars will have an early exit from the playoffs this season if they can't fix their power play. The Devils seem like the perfect team to fix their power play woes against. If the Stars can score on the power play tonight, they should come away with two points and the Divisional lead tonight.