STARS VS. BLUE JACKETS GAME PREVIEW
Looking for their ninth win in their last 12 home games, the Dallas Stars (31-23-10) will seek revenge for a road loss in Ohio last week when the Columbus Blue Jackets (33-26-5) pay a visit to the American Airlines Center on Monday. Game time is 7:30 p.m. central. The match will be televised on Fox Sports Southwest.
This is the second and final meeting between the teams this season. On March 4 in Columbus, the Blue Jackets captured a 4-2 win.
The Stars, who are 4-2-0 since the Olympic break and have points in 13 of their last games (10-2-3), are coming off an emotional 4-3 win over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night on Mike Modano Night at the American Airlines Center. The Stars led by scores of 1-0 and 2-1 before the Wild scored the next two goals.
The turning point of the third period came when Minnesota's Erik Haula barreled over Dallas netminder Kari Lehtonen in the crease. Lehtonen was forced to leave the game with the head injury and recently acquired Tim Thomas entered the game to make his Stars debut. Haula received a charging major and game misconduct.
The Stars' Tyler Seguin scored on the ensuing power play to tie the game and then went on to win as Erik Cole scored a breakaway goal. Thomas stopped all six shots fired his way.
With Lehtonen still unavailable tonight, Dallas recalled goaltender Cristopher Nilstorp from the AHL to back up Thomas tonight. Tonight's game concludes a three-game homestand for the Stars, who have won the first two games.
The Blue Jackets, who are 4-2-0 since the break and 16-7-1 since the start of the 2014 calendar year, are coming off a 1-0 road victory over the Nashville Predators on Saturday night.
After two scoreless periods, Artem Anisimov scored the game's only goal with 6:25 remaining in the third period. Defending Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 28 shots to earn his third shutout of the 2013-14 season.
On the Columbus injury front, defenseman Nikita Nikitin (head) is questionable for tonight. Defensemen Fedor Tyutin (ankle) and Ryan Murray (knee) as well as wingers Jared Boll (ankle) and Jack Skille (upper body) are out of the lineup.