GAME PREVIEW (7:15 AM CST)
Embarking on the first leg of a three-game western Canada road trip, the Dallas Stars (8-7-2) are in Alberta to take on the Edmonton Oilers (4-13-2). The game starts at 9 p.m. CST and will be televised locally on Fox Sports Southwest.
This is the first of three meetings between the teams this season. Last season, the Stars were 2-1-0 in their three games against the Oilers; winning both matches in Edmonton but losing at home. The Oilers drag a 1-5-0 record at home this season into tonight's tilt, while the Stars have emerged victorious -- three times via overtime or shootout -- in four of their last five road matches.
After tonight's game, the Stars remain in Alberta to take on the Calgary Flames tomorrow night. The three-game trip concludes in Vancouver on Sunday.
STARS OUTLOOK
The Stars swept a three-game eastern road trip last week before briefly returning home for one game on Saturday. In that match, a meeting with the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas was on the wrong end of a 5-2 final.
Dallas got off to an early 1-0 lead against the Blackhawks and also led 2-1 midway through regulation on goals by Cody Eakin and Tyler Seguin. More than any other reason, the game got away from the Stars on special teams. Dallas went 0-for-6 on the power play and failed to kill off their lone two-minute penalty of the match. Chicago also scored a shorthanded empty net goal with 1:07 remaining in the game. Kari Lehtonen stopped 26 of 30 shots in a losing cause, while Corey Crawford made 31 saves on 33 Stars shots.
Ageless winger Ray Whitney was placed on injured reserve on Tuesday (retroactive to Nov. 9) with a lower body injury. The Stars recalled center Travis Morin from the AHL after practice yesterday.
According to the Stars' official website, Ryan Garbutt filled in for Whitney at practice yesterday, taking his spot on a line with Vernon Fiddler and Rich Peverley. Antoine Roussel rotated to Eakin's left wing with Alex Chiasson on the other wing. In the meantime, rookie Valeri Nichushkin remained on the top line with center Tyler Seguin and captain Jamie Benn.
At the time of his recall yesterday, Morin was leading the AHL in scoring with 24 points (10 goals, 14 assists) in his 13 games with the Texas Stars. This is actually his second NHL recall of the season but he has yet to dress for a game with the big club this year.
Head coach Lindy Ruff would not publicly announce how he will work the goaltending rotation during the western Canada trip. Lehtonen has started each of the team's last nine games, including back-to-back nights in Buffalo (a 4-3 win) and Montreal (2-1 loss) in late October. Dan Ellis has not appeared in a game since Oct 19; rookie Jack Campbell made his NHL debut in an ugly 6-3 loss to Anaheim on Oct. 20.
With the back-to-back games in Edmonton and Calgary, there is a good chance that Ellis will get one of the starts. I would think it could by the Flames game, with Lehtonen getting the road trip bookend starts in Edmonton and Vancouver.
Tonight's game marks the return of former Oilers captain Shawn Horcoff to Edmonton. Drafted by the Oilers in 1998, Horcoff spent 15 years in the Edmonton organization. Horcoff's NHL career in Edmonton spanned a dozen seasons, 796 regular season games and 35 playoff matches. Horcoff assumed the captaincy in 2010. Upon his departure from Edmonton in an offseason trade for defenseman Philip Larsen, the longevity that enabled Horcoff to compile162 goals and 447 points in his career ranked him among the top 10 scorers in Oilers' franchise history.
OILERS OUTLOOK
Edmonton has been in utter disarray this season, especially of late. The club has by far allowed the most goals of any team in the NHL (75 through 19 games; a 3.94 GAA as a club), and the Oilers have dropped eight of their last nine games overall. Seven of the losses have come in regulation.
The team has also been awash in drama, with former first overall draft pick Nail Yakupov getting in new coach Dallas Eakins' doghouse and the player complaining about his ice time and stints as a healthy scratch.
Last Friday, the Oilers announced the signing of goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov for the rest of this season. The former Vezina Trophy finalist, who was bought out by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2013 offseason following two tumultuous years with the team, is currently on a conditioning assignment. The same night that the team announced the Bryzgalov signing, the Oilers traded defenseman Ladislav Smid.
After dropping a 4-2 decision in Philadelphia on Saturday, the Oilers lost 5-4 to Chicago the following night. Edmonton actually held a 2-1 lead in the second period. The game was tied at 3-3 midway through the third period. Finally, Chicago's exploded for a pair of closely spaced goals to go ahead for good.
The Oilers have three former Stars on the roster. Defenseman Larsen has been a relative bright spot in the five games he has dressed for the team. Forward Luke Gazdic, whom the Oilers claimed off waivers from the Stars at the end of training camp, is questionable for tonight's game with a badly bruised shoulder. Backup goaltender Richard Bachman is on injured reserve with a groin pull.
Elsewhere on the Edmonton injury list, the most notable absence for the team is offensive defenseman Justin Schultz (groin/ribcage strain). Steve MacIntyre (knee), Tyler Pitlick (knee), Corey Potter (strained back) and Ryan Hamilton (knee) are also out of the lineup for injury-related reasons.
PROJECTED LINEUPS (subject to change)
STARS
14 Jamie Benn – 91 Tyler Seguin – 43 Valeri Nichushkin
21 Antoine Roussel – 20 Cody Eakin – 12 Alex Chiasson
16 Ryan Garbutt – 38 Vernon Fiddler – 17 Rich Peverley
28 Lane MacDermid or 39 Travis Morin –10 Shawn Horcoff – 72 Erik Cole
4 Brenden Dillon – 3 Stephane Robidas
33 Alex Goligoski – 6 Trevor Daley
24 Jordie Benn – 55 Sergei Gonchar
32 Kari Lehtonen
[30 Dan Ellis]
Potential scratches: Lane MacDermid or Travis Morin (healthy), Aaron Rome (healthy), Ray Whitney (IR, upper body).
OILERS (per team official website)
57 David Perron - 93 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - 14 Jordan Eberle
4 Taylor Hall - 89 Sam Gagner - 83 Ales Hemsky
94 Ryan Smyth - 26 Mark Arcobello - 64 Nail Yukopov
6 Jesse Joensuu - 27 Boyd Gordon - 28 Ryan Jones
21 Andrew Ference - 2 Jeff Petry
77 Anton Belov - 36 Philip Larsen
44 Corey Potter - 15 Nick Schultz
40 Devan Dubnyk
[1 Jason LaBabera]
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