MINI-PREVIEW 12:05 AM CDT
Desperately needing a victory in the final game of what has been a disappointing four-game homestand, the eighth-seeded Dallas Stars (40-29-5) are now in a fight for their Western Conference playoff lives as they take on the 11th-place Calgary Flames (34-26-15) in the front end of a home-and-home set. The matinee game starts at 1 p.m. CDT and will be broadcast locally on TXA-21.
This is the third of four meetings between the teams this season, and the second and final
one in Dallas. The Stars own a pair of 3-2 wins in the first two meetings -- the first in overtime (Mike Ribeiro scored a dazzling goal for the winner) and the latter via shootout.
Dallas has lost three of its last four games -- all in regulation -- to tumble out of first place in the Pacific Division. The team has virtually lost any margin for error in the chase for a playoff spot much less the guaranteed third seed in the Western Conference.
Calgary is ranked 11th in the West but enters the game just two points in back of the Stars, albeit with one more game played. The good news for the Flames is that they've gained points out nine of the last 10 games. The bad news is that club has let several winnable points slip through their grasp, has lost three in a row beyond regulation, has lost four in a row overall and has left the rank with the full two points just five times (5-1-4) within that span.
After today's game, the clubs will rematch in Calgary on Monday. At the conclusion of the current homestand, the Stars will embark on their second western Canada road trip of the month of March. The first time around, Dallas went 3-0-0.
PROJECTED LINEUPS (subject to change)
STARS
Loui Eriksson - Mike Ribeiro - Michael Ryder
Brenden Morrow - Jamie Benn - Steve Ott
Eric Nystrom - Vernon Fiddler - Radek Dvorak
Jake Dowell - Tom Wandell - Adam Burish
Sheldon Souray - Stephane Robidas
Philip Larsen - Alex Goligoski
Trevor Daley - Adam Pardy
Kari Lehtonen
[Richard Bachman]
FLAMES
Alex Tanguay - Matt Stajan - Jarome Iginla
Curtis Glencross - Olli Jokinen - David Moss
Lee Stempniak - Blair Jones - Blake Comeau
Tom Kostopoulos - Lance Bouma - Tim Jackman
Chris Butler - Jay Bouwmeester
Mark Giordano - Scott Hannan
Derek Smith - Anton Babchuk
Miikka Kiprusoff
[Henrik Karlsson]
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In a pregame ceremony before today's tilt with the Flames, the Stars will honor the memory of the late Karlis Skrastins. The 37-year-old perished along with the rest of his Lokomotiv Yaroslavl teammates, coaches and crew members in a plane crash in Russia on the day before the scheduled opener of the 2011-12 KHL season.
The durable Latvian, who finished his 11-year NHL career with two seasons as a member of the Stars, was an iron man on the ice in his prime, and a very well-liked player off the ice at all times. Number 37 was an excellent shot-blocker and a fine penalty killer.
Skrastins' widow, Zane, and young daughters Karolina, Laurena and Viviana will be at the pre-game ceremony. Deepening the tragedy of Karlis' death, he never got see Viviana, as Zane was pregnant at the time of the crash. The healthy baby girl was born in February.
The plight of the families of the Lokomotiv players and coaches who died the crash has been heartbreaking. The team has not lived up to most of the promises that were made immediately after the crash, and that has created burdens -- beyond the unspeakable emotional pain and psychological trauma -- on many of the family.
In order to assist one of their own, the Stars organization has set up a trust fund for Karlis Skrastins' daughters. The current players have pooled money for a collective donation and new Stars owner, Tom Gaglardi, will personally match the players’ sum on a dollar-for-dollar basis.
The Stars' team has also asked for fans' help for the Skrastins' and the other families of the Lokomotiv players who so needlessly died aboard an unsafe and outdated airplane and then have not gotten the support they deserve from the Lokomotiv organization or from the KHL as a league beyond the lovely and touching memorial services before the temporarily postponed start of the current season.
There are two ways fans can help:
1) The Stars will hold a silent auction during tomorrow's game with every cent of the proceeds going to the trust fund for the Skrastins girls. The item to be auctioned is a framed set containing an autographed Karlis Skrastins jersey, puck and photograph in his Dallas Stars uniform. Bids will be accepted at the Dallas Stars Foundation table (outside section 101/102) on the main plaza concourse. Bidding closes at the end of the second period.
2) Fans can purchase the popular “Love for Lokomotiv” bracelets, which raise fund for all of the families of the players and coaches lost in the crash. The bracelets are available both at the Dallas Stars Foundation table and at the team store.
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