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STARS VS. JETS GAME PREVIEW
Looking to win back-to-back games and advance their push for a Western Conference wildcard spot, Lindy Ruff's Dallas Stars (33-26-11) will play host to Paul Maurice's Winnipeg Jets (32-31-9). 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 between the Central Division teams this season. The Stars are 2-1-1 in the season series to date but got dismantled in Winnipeg by a 7-2 count on March 16. The game was the first stop in a fruitless 0-3-0 road trip for the Stars, preceding the team's 3-1 home win over Ottawa in its last game.
Kari Lehtonen will be in goal for the second straight game. With the Stars playing in Chicago tomorrow night, there is a chance Tim Thomas will get the nod in the next game. That is not set in stone. Lehtonen has outplayed Thomas in their respective last couple of starts. Winnipeg will counter in net tonight with Al Montoya.
Erik Cole (upper body injury) remains sidelined for the Stars and is officially day-to-day. The team has called up Dustin Jeffrey from the AHL's Texas Stars, swapping places with Chris Mueller. Valeri Nichushkin is at least temporarily back on the top line for Dallas and Aaron Rome will remain in the defensive rotation with Kevin Connauton a healthy scratch. Rich Peverley (heart surgery) is done for the season.
The Jets are coming off a 3-2 home loss on Saturday to the Carolina Hurricanes. Winnipeg led 1-0 lead in the second period, but the Canes exploded for three goals in the span of less than three minutes to take a 3-1 lead. The Jets were unable to find an equalizer after getting back within a goal.
Winnipeg captain Andrew Ladd is not with the team tonight. He is with his wife after the birth of their child. The Jets also have a lengthy injury report, including defensemen Zach Bogosian (upper body) and Grant Clitsome (back) as well as goaltender Ondrej Pavelec (lower body). Other absences include Chris Thorburn (broken foot), Mark Scheifele (MCL sprain) and James Wright (lower body).
Tonight's likely line combinations per Stars' beat writer Mike Heika:
STARS
Jamie Benn - Tyler Seguin - Valeri Nichushkin Ray Whitney - Cody Eakin - Colton Sceviour Antoine Roussel -Vernon Fiddler - Ryan Garbutt Shawn Horcoff - Dustin Jeffrey - Alex Chiasson
Alex Goligoski-Trevor Daley Jordie Benn-Brenden Dillon Aaron Rome-Sergei Gonchar
Kari Lehtonen [Tim Thomas]
JETS
Evander Kane – Bryan Little – Michael Frolik Eric O’Dell – Jim Slater – Devin Setoguchi Dustin Byfuglien – Olli Jokinen – Blake Wheeler Eric Tangradi – Patrice Cormier – Matt Halischuk
Tobias Enstrom – Keaton Ellerby Mark Stuart – Jacob Trouba Adam Pardy – Paul Postma
Al Montoya [Michael Hutchinson]