ABBREVIATED GAME PREVIEW: STARS VS. HURRICANES
In their first game after the Olympic break, the Dallas Stars (27-21-10) will play host to the Carolina Hurricanes (26-23-9) at the American Airlines Center. Game time is 7:30 p.m. Central. The game will be televised locally on Fox Sports Southwest.
This is the first of two meetings between the inter-Conference teams this season and the lone one in Dallas. They will rematch in Raleigh on April 4.
The Stars closed out the pre-Olympic portion of their schedule with points in five straight games (3-0-2) and a 6-1-2 mark over a nine-game span. On Feb. 8, the final match before the break, the Stars defeated Phoenix 2-1. The strong run pulled the Stars into eighth place in the Western Conference.
Dallas sent three players to Sochi -- left wing Jamie Benn (Canada), goaltender Kari Lehtonen (Finland) and rookie right wing Valeri Nichushkin (Russia) -- while Stars coach Lindy Ruff was an assistant to Team Canada head coach Mike Babcock.
On the Dallas injury front, Stephane Robidas (fractured tibia) remains sidelined for the rest of the season.
Carolina has already resumed its post-Olympic schedule ahead of tonight's game. With Cam Ward playing for the first time since being injured in a New Year's Eve game, the Canes lost a 3-2 heartbreaker on the road to the lowly Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday.
Playing from behind, the Canes tied the game with 3:08 remaining on a goal by Eric Staal. With the game seemingly headed to overtime, Buffalo defenseman Christian Ehrhoff tallied with 43.4 seconds remaining in regulation.
On the Carolina injury front, Joni Pitkà¤nen (heel surgery) has missed the entire season.