Looking to carry over a strong December into the new calendar year, the Dallas Stars (20-12-7) will host the Montreal Canadiens (23-14-4) in the fourth game of the Stars' five-game homestand. Game time is 7:30 PM CST. The match will be televised locally on Fox Sports Southwest and in French in Canada on RDS.
This is the second and final meeting between the teams this season. On Oct. 29, the Stars dropped a 2-1 road decision to the Habs. Cody Eakin was the lone Dallas player to solve Carey Price (26 saves), while Michael Bournival and Rene Bourque notched goals for the Canadiens.
The Stars have posted a 5-0-2 record over their last seven games, and enters the new year having allowed two regulation goals or fewer in seven straight games. Dallas has outscored opponents by a 23-13 margin over the span of their seven-game point streak. The team is 2-0-1 thus far on their five game homestand.
On New Year's Eve, the Stars' struggling power play struck twice in a 3-2 regulation win over the Los Angeles Kings. Erik Cole scored two goals for the second time in the last three games. A streak scorer, Cole has five goals and eight points in his last six games after getting 12 points (five goals and seven assists) in the first 33 games of the season. Additionally, Tyler Seguin notched a goal and an assist. Alex Chiasson had two assists.
Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen, who has been on a strong run of late, stopped 23 of 25 shots in the win against LA. Apart from standout goaltending, a teamwide commitment to defense has thus far enabled the team to withstand the absences of Stephane Robidas (fractured right tibia), Trevor Daley (high ankle sprain) and Sergei Gonchar (concussion) from the blueline.
For Montreal, tonight's game marks the conclusion of a six-game road trip. The Canadiens have gone 2-2-1 thus far.
Montreal is coming off a highly disappointing 5-4 overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. The Habs held a 3-0 lead after 40 minutes but then the bottom dropped out in a nightmarish third period that saw the Hurricanes erupt for four goals in a 6:38 span. P.K. Subban salvaged a point for his team by tying the game but the second point slipped away in overtime.
A big part of the problem: the Canadiens took 10 penalties in the game. They managed to kill off the first eight disadvantages but the Canes came through on each of the last two.
On the Montreal injury front, George Parros (concussion) and defenseman Davis Drewiske (shoulder) are both out of the lineup.
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