ABBREVIATED PREVIEW: STARS VS. CANUCKS
Wrapping up a three-game homestand, Lindy Ruff's Dallas Stars (17-5-0) will look to get back on the winning track on Black Friday when they host Willie Desjardins (9-8-6). Game time at the American Airlines Center is 7:30 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Southwest.
This is the second of three meetings between the teams this season, and the second and final one in Dallas. On Oct. 29, the Stars captured a 4-3 overtime win. The season series will wrap up Dec. 3 in Vancouver. Dallas carries an eight-game winning streak against the Canucks into this game.
The Stars last played on Tuesday, suffering a 7-4 home loss to the Ottawa Senators. The defeat snapped a five-game winning streak for Dallas and also came at the cost of losing goalie Kari Lehtonen to an upper-body injury in a collision with defenseman John Klingberg. After this game, Dallas immediately begins a four-game road trip through Minnesota (Saturday) and the NHL's three westernmost Canadian cities.
Lehtonen was placed on injured reserve; he is expected to be out a week. Goaltending prospect Jack Campbell has been recalled to back up Antti Niemi. Defenseman Jason Demers, injured in last Saturday's 3-0 win over Buffalo is expected to return to the lineup for the game against Vancouver. The Stars have also recalled defenseman Patrik Nemeth from his two-week conditioning assignment to the AHL's Texas Stars.
The Canucks enter this game coming off a 3-2 road wn over the Minnesoa Wild on Wednesday but have struggled overall (3-6-2 over their last 11 games) in the month of November. A two-goal performance by Radim Vrbata and a 31-save effort by Ryan Miller keyed the win over the Wild. The game in Dallas is the second of a four-game road swing for the Canucks.
On the Vancouver injury front, both Brandon Sutter (abdominal injury) and Ben Hutton (lower body) are on IR and remain unavailable.