PREVIEW: STARS VS. CANADIENS
Looking to restore some two-way confidence and stop the bleeding of a four-game winless streak, the Dallas Stars (9-12-5) return home tonight to host the Montreal Canadiens (17-9-2). Game time at the American Airlines Center is 6:00 p.m. CST. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Southwest.
This is the first of two games this season between the inter-conference clubs. On January 27, the teams will rematch in Montreal. Lindy Ruff's Stars did not fare well against Michel Therrien's Habs last season, dropping 2-1 and 6-4 decisions.
Fatigue is a potential factor heading into tonight's game. Montreal played in Chicago, while the Stars were idle. It is also noteworthy that the Canadiens conclude a five-game road trip tonight and have played eight of their last nine games on the road. Lastly, tonight is the Canadiens' final game of a three-in-four-night gauntlet. The Stars have been playing on an alternating-night schedule over the past week.
After tonight's match, the Stars have a relatively light schedule with just two games in 10 nights. Dallas will host Winnipeg on Tuesday and then New Jersey one week from tonight. The Stars then have a three-night break before embarking on a western Canada road trip that will take them through Vancouver (Dec. 17), Calgary (Dec. 19) and Edmonton (Dec. 21).
The Habs' lengthy road jaunt will soon give way to a more favorable schedule for the club. The Canadiens will return to Montreal for a five-game homestand with two or three night of rest between the first three games and an alternating-night schedule for the remainder.
STARS OUTLOOK
The Stars enter this game coming off a terrible road trip that saw the club drop 5-2, 5-3, and 5-2 decisions to Colorado, Toronto and Detroit. The current 0-3-1 skid came on the heels of a three-game winning streak.
Ruff has never been one to sugar-coat things or pull punches in his assessment of the job his teams are doing. At yesterday's practice, he was very blunt in describing what has happened to the team thus far in the 2014-15 campaign.
"We are getting caught on the offensive side of the puck. It’s been a disease since the beginning of training camp," Ruff said to Stars' Inside Edge's Mark Stepneski.
"We’ve got a team – and I’ve discussed this – that is fragile because sometimes it might be the goaltending, and you get a little bit scared. As a coaching staff, when too many goals are going in you are trying to defend better because you are trying to take a few chances out of the goalie’s hands. That type of game leads to a lot safer game, which is hard to play. Our team doesn’t play that game very well.…
Dallas enters tonight's game with the worst goals against average (3.58) in the NHL. The Stars have yielded five or more goals nine times, in six of their last nine games and each of their last four games. No team can win that way, which is the number one reason why the Stars are winless in their last four games and currently sit in the basement of the tough Central Division.
There is plenty of blame to go around for the team's unacceptable goals against average. The goaltending has been spotty this season, even from the normally stalwart Kari Lehtonen. Dallas' team defense has been an even bigger mess, encompassing many of the defensemen and forwards alike.
It's not a matter of the Stars working several rookies into their blueline rotation (actually, John Klingberg in particular has been a bright spot in most of his NHL games to date). The veteran defensemen and many of the key forwards on the team have been guilty of more than their share of poor decisions with and without the puck.
An inordinate percentage of these mistakes have ended up in the back of the Dallas net. Additionally, the critical momentum saves that every team needs from its goalies haven't been made with enough regularity on tougher-than-average scoring chances but still potentially makeable stops.
Things are not entirely bad for Dallas.
The club has shown some resiliency in stretches of recent games and showed last season that they can reel off significant winning streaks after finally working through tough spells. In fact, there have been times this season where the Stars have been able to find the high-tempo skating game and work ethic that powered the club into the playoffs a year ago.
While team captain Jamie Benn (eight goals, 23 points in 26 games) has tended to run red hot and ice cold for prolonged stretches and sometimes loses his discipline, he remains a tone-setter for the team. In the meantime, few opposing teams have had answers for slowing down Tyler Seguin (19 goals, 32 points) once he gets the puck on his stick.
Offensive output is not the concern. The Stars have gotten five or more goals from six forwards plus defenseman Trevor Daley. Jason Spezza has racked up a team-leading 16 assists among his 21 points.
For the Stars, players getting on the wrong side of the puck a little too often is still a bit of a trickle-down issue when things aren't clicking offensively on a given night. It starts from the top-end forwards and tends to be contagious. Likewise, the puck management and coverages by veteran defensemen such as Daley (currently dragging a minus-16) and Jordie Benn (minus-eight) have left a lot to be desired in many of the uglier losses this season.
The Stars are capable of playing much better than they have of late. The second period of the Detroit game was an improvement on a terrible first period but Dallas got stymied again in the final stanza.
On the injury front, Valeri Nichushkin (hip surgery) is out until the stretch drive. Patrik Nemeth (forearm laceration) is lost for the season.
Canadiens outlook
The sailing hasn't been smooth for Montreal of late, either. They've hit the wall on their recent road-heavy schedule, dropping five of their last six games. The team's high-tempo style of play has hit lulls a little too often in many recent games, and the Habs have dropped from first to second place n the Atlantic Division.
The Canadiens enter tonight's game coming off a gut-wrenching 4-3 loss in regulation last night in Chicago. Montreal led 3-2 after two periods before Chicago bounced back for a pair of third period goals to win the game. Brandon Saad's game winner came with 27 seconds remaining in regulation. Brendan Gallagher, former Stars defenseman Sergei Gonchar and P.K. Subban (power play) tallied the Montreal goals. Carey Price stopped 32 of 36 shots in a losing cause.
With Price having played both on Wednesday in Minnesota (2-1 loss) and last night in Chicago, there is a good chance that Dustin Tokarski will get the start in goal tonight for Montreal. Therrien has started Tokarski in the second half of each back-to-back set of games so far this season.
Canadiens third-line center Lars Eller left Friday's game with an upper body injury, and did not return. The Habs have recalled forward Sven Andrighetto from their AHL farm club in Hamilton.