STARS-BLACKHAWKS GAME PREVIEW (1:15 PM CST)
Coming off back-to-back shootout losses, including one against tonight's opponent, the Dallas Stars (12-9-4) are in the Windy City to take on the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks (20-4-4). Game time is at 7 p.m. CST. The game will be televised nationally on NBC Sports Network.
This is the third of five meetings between the teams, all of which have taken place in barely over a month.
On November 9 in Dallas, the Hawks laid a 5-2 beating on the Stars. Cody Eakin and Tyler Seguin actually gave Dallas one-goal leads early in the first and second periods but the Blackhawks stormed back to take control of the game. Kari Lehtonen made 26 saves in a losing effort. Marian Hossa netted a pair of goals, and Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane (power play) and Niklas Hjalmarsson (empty net, shorthanded) scored for Chicago.
On Black Friday in Dallas, the teams engaged in a marathon 11-round shootout, with losing goaltender Lehtonen turning back nine of 11 and Corey Crawford stopping 10 of 11. Only Rich Peverley's regulation and shootout goals got past the 2013 Stanley Cup winning netminder in the game. Crawford also denied Alex Chiasson on a second-period penalty shot. Patrick Sharp notched Chicago's lone regulation goal in his team's 2-1 win.
The Stars enter this game coming off a frustrating 3-2 home shootout loss to the Edmonton Oilers. Dallas controlled much of the game but, apart from shorthanded and even strength goals by Ryan Garbutt, were unable to score on either Ilya Bryzgalov or Devan Dubnyk.
Seguin missed the Edmonton game due to concussion-like symptoms. He worked out on his own before practice on Monday and made the trip to Chicago with the rest of the team. Officially, he remains day-to-day.
Chicago enters this game riding a six-game winning streak. The club completed its recent seven-game road trip with a stellar 6-1-0 record. In the club's most recent outing, the Blackhawks downed the Phoenix Coyotes by a 5-2 mark.
On the Chicago injury front, Bryan Bickell (lower body), backup goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin (lower body) and defensemen Mike Kostka (lower body) are out of the lineup.
After tonight's game, the Stars head to Toronto on Thursday and then return home to the American Airlines Center for a Saturday afternoon meeting with the Philadelphia Flyers.
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