With hopes of a meaningful stretch drive already flickering well before the trade deadline, Lindy Ruff's Dallas Stars (21-24-10) host Bill Peters' Carolina Hurricanes (24-21-7) on Saturday afternoon. Game time at the American Airlines Center is 1 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Southwest.

This is the first of two meetings this season between the inter-conference teams. The Stars have generally fared well against the Canes in recent seasons, sweeping the season series last year and winning seven of the last eight games played in Dallas.

Right now, the Stars need to start stringing together wins in bunches. Losers of four games in a row, the club enters Saturday's tilt eight points out in the wildcard chase and three games below .500 for the season (although 14-9-6 at home). Things have rapidly gotten to the point in which it would take a near-miracle to vault into playoff position by the end of the season.

It is of no consolation to the Stars that most of the losses this season have been games that were within reach of coming away with at least one point if not two. The same could be said for many teams buried in the standings.

On Thursday in Ottawa, the Stars shot themselves in the foot in the first period as they yielded a shorthanded goal and then a horrifying own goal (by Jiri Hudler) with a vacated net on a delayed penalty. Dallas dug deep and came back to tie the game with second period goals by Antoine Roussel (8th) and team captain Jamie Benn (17th) but a wraparound goal by Mark Stone on a friendly bounce off the side of the net put Ottawa ahead to stay, 3-2.

The Stars' return to the ACC is brief. The plays its next three games on the road following Saturday's matinee. On the injury front, defenseman Jamie Oleksiak (hand) has been upgraded to day-to-day status. However, second line center Jason Spezza (upper body), veteran defenseman Johnny Oduya (ankle), forward Mattias Janmark (pre-season knee surgery) and forward Ales Hemsky (hip surgery) are all on injured reserve.

Carolina saw a three-game winning streak snapped as they suffered a 5-0 shellacking at the hands of the Washington Capitals in their last game. The team, concluding a three-game road trip before a five-night bye week, has been very strong on home ice this season but has struggled to a 7-15-6 record on the road that is the key facet of why they are below the playoff cutoff in the Eastern Conference.

One on-paper factor in Saturday's matchup that favors the Canes: special teams. Carolina brings the NHL's number-one ranked penalty kill into this tilt, severely contrasting with Dallas' 29th-ranked PK. Additionally, Dallas have yielded an NHL-worst nine shorthanded goals this season while on the power play. Carolina has scored six shorties to date this season.

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