PREVIEW: STARS @ RED WINGS
Looking to continue their winning ways and wrap up a four-game road trip with three victories, Lindy Ruff's Dallas Stars (11-3-0) have a Motown matinee on Sunday against Jeff Blashill's Detroit Red Wings (7-5-1). Game time is 2 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Southwest.
This the first of two meetings between the traditional rivals. The teams will rematch on Leap Day (Feb. 29) 2016 in Dallas. The Red Wings swept the season series last year, capturing a 5-2 home win and wild 7-6 overtime win in Dallas.
The Stars enter this game coming off a 4-1 road win against the Carolina Hurrcanes on Friday. The same night, Detroit claimed a 2-1 overtime road win against the Toronto Maple Leafs. After this game, the Stars return home to host Toronto on Tuesday. The Red Wings remain home to play the Washington Capitals on Tuesday.
Stars Outlook
Patrick Sharp is officially questionable for Sunday's game after colliding with the net as he scored the game-winning goal in Raleigh on Friday. However, Lindy Ruff told Stars Inside Edge that he does not think Sharp will miss the game. In the meantime, Tyler Seguin extended his point streak to seven games with an assist on Sharp's game-winner. Seguin (21 points) bypassed linemate Jamie Benn for the NHL scoring lead.
Kari Lehtonen has started each of the last two games. Coming off a 30-save performance on Friday, it appears that Lehtonen will get the nod to start against the Red Wings.
Alex Hemsky (hip) returned to the lineup ahead of schedule on Friday and scored a goal after replacing last-minute scratch Antoine Roussel (upper body). With Roussel likely to play on Sunday, there is a chance that Hemsky is held out of the game against the Red Wings. Forwards Patrick Eaves (lower body), Travis Moen (upper body) and Curtis McKenzie (hip) all remain on the injured reserve list.
Red Wings Outlook
The Red Wings bring a three-game winning streak into this match. On Friday night, Detroit's Jakub Kindl scored at 2:17 of overtime to defeat Toronto. Earlier in the game, Henrik Zetterberg tallied his 300th career NHL regular season goal.
On the injury front, Detroit expects to have offensive defenseman Mike Green (back) returning to the lineup to play the Stars. However, the Red Wings still have an extensive injury list. Forwards Pavel Datsyuk (ankle), Johan Franzén (concussion), former Stars center Brad Richards (back) and Landon Ferraro (lower body) as well as defenseman Kyle Quincey (ankle) are all out of the linep.