STARS VS. AVALANCHE ABBREVIATED GAME PREVIEW
In the fourth match of a five-game homestand, the Dallas Stars (24-20-8) will play host to the Colorado Avalanche (32-14-5). Game time at the American Airlines Center is 7:30 p.m. CST. The match will be televised locally on Fox Sports Southwest.
This is the fifth and final meeting of the season series between the clubs and the third game in Dallas. The Avalanche have won three of the first four games, with one of the wins (Nov. 1 in Dallas) coming in overtime. Most recently, the clubs split a home-and-home set on Dec. 16 and 17, with the Avs cruising to a 6-2 win on home ice in the first game and the Stars taking the rematch at the AAC by a 3-2 count in regulation.
After opening the month of January with a six-game losing streak and a record of 1-8-1 over the first 10 games, the Stars have reeled off a three-game winning streak on the current homestand. Dallas has outscored its opponent by a combined 14-1 differential, downing Minnesota (4-0), Toronto (7-1) and Pittsburgh (3-0) in the last week.
In Saturday's game, the Stars scored twice on the power play. A team weakness during the first half of the season, Dallas has been scorchingly hot on the man advantage of late. The club has scored at least one power play goal in seven straight games and is 9-for-24 (37.5 percent) over that stretch.
Tonight's game should present a good challenge on special teams, as the Avalanche are 22-for-24 (91.7 percent) on the penalty kill over their last eight games. Dallas has also excelled on the PK of late, killing off 15 straight disadvantages as they head into tonight's game. The Avs have hit a bit of a power play dry spell of late, going 1-for-13 over a five-game span.
On the Dallas injury front, Stephane Robidas (broken right leg) is out for the rest of the season. Team captain Jamie Benn and winger Alex Chiasson took maintenance days yesterday but are slated to be in the lineup tonight.
Benn has been on a roll offensively of late, racking up six points (two goals, four assists) during the Stars' three-game winning streak. In the meantime, goalie Kari Lehtonen has posted a pair of shutouts in the three games and has stopped all but one shot (a nifty .985 save percentage) during the homestand.
Colorado has had a much better overall month of January than Dallas. The club is 9-3-1 over its last 13 games. However, the Avs have recently hit a little bump in the road, dropping two of the last three and not looking very good on its current road trip, which concludes tonight. Most recently, Colorado got whipped, 5-2, in Tampa on Saturday.
One bright spot for the Avs even during the recent mini-skid has been the play of rookie forward Nathan MacKinnon. The first overall pick of the 2013 NHL Draft has notched five points -- including a pair of goals -- in the last four games.
On the Colorado injury front, backup goalie Jean-Sabastien Giguere (back spasms) is officially on a day-to-day basis. In the meantime veteran defenseman Cory Sarich (back) and role-playing forward David van der Gulik (head) are out of the lineup.