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Stars Gameday: 1/21/12 @ Wild

January 21, 2012, 7:31 AM ET [0 Comments]
Bill Meltzer
Dallas Stars Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
PREVIEW 6:15 AM CST

The search for goals continues for both teams when the reeling Dallas Stars (24-20-2) travel to Minnesota to take on the free-falling Wild (22-18-7) tonight. The game will start at 8 PM CST and be broadcast locally on TX-21.

The Stars and Wild will see a lot of one another in the second half of the season, as this is the first of four meetings between the teams. Last year, the Stars won three of four games (including a pair of shutout victories) but the Wild broke Dallas' hearts on the final day of the regular season. Needing a regulation or overtime victory to earn a playoff spot, the Stars dropped a 5-3 decision in Minnesota to finish out of the playoffs.

It is an understatement to say that the Stars' offense has been struggling without top two centers Jamie Benn (appendectomy) and Mike Ribeiro (MCL tear). Unfortunately, both players remain out of the lineup tonight. Last night, the Stars barely scratched out a single goal against Tampa Bay -- a puck went in off Tom Wandell's skate but was not kicked -- in a 2-1 loss at the American Airlines Center.

With the Stars playing the second of back-to-back games, it is likely that Richard Bachman will get the start in goal tonight. He stole a point for the Stars in Tuesday's 3-2 shootout loss to Detroit. The Stars have really struggled in the second half of consecutive-night games, so the goalie will have his work cut out for him to make sure anything that gets by him is earned by the opposition.

Over the last month, the bottom has dropped out for the Minnesota Wild. They have dropped eight of their last 10 games, and dropped from first in the Western Conference to ninth. Even when they were atop the West, the Wild were hardly an offensive juggernaut.

Now their forward corps is every bit as banged up as the Stars, and the team has been without top forward Mikko Koivu (separated shoulder) for the last week in addition to Pierre-Mac Bouchard (concussion) and Guillaume Latendresse (concussion). As a result, the Wild enter tonight's game ranked 29th in goals (106).

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