ABBREVIATED STARS - PREDATORS GAME PREVIEW
Having reached a point where there is virtually no margin for error as they push for the final wildcard playoff spot in the Western Conference, the Dallas Stars (34-27-11) are home on Friday night to take on the Nashville Predators (32-31-11). Game time at the American Airlines Center is 7:30 p.m. Central time. The game will be televised locally on Fox Sports Southwest.
This is the fourth of five meetings between the teams this season, and the second in Dallas. The Stars are 1-2-0 in the three games to date, losing both games in Music City in regulation but capturing a 4-1 win on home ice in the first game after the Christmas break. The teams last played each other on Jan. 20 in Nashville; a 4-1 Predators win.
After enduring a 0-3-1 slide and a winless three-game road trip, the Stars have won two of their last three games. However, the club is coming off a 4-2 road loss in Chicago on Tuesday night. Kari Lehtonen is expected to get his fourth straight start in goal, and fifth start in the team's last six games.
On the injury front, Erik Cole (upper body) remains out and Rich Peverley (heart surgery) is done for the season. Ray Whitney (flu) missed practice yesterday and is questionable for tonight.
Dallas is in increasingly dire straights in the playoff race. With Phoenix having downed New Jersey last night via shootout, the Stars have fallen five points out of the final playoff spot in the West. The Stars hold two games in hand but, even with wins in both, that is not enough by itself to make up the gap. Dallas simply cannot afford to lose. The Stars and Coyotes play head-to-head in Phoenix on the final night of the regular season but Dallas has a lot of work to do for that game to mean anything.
Nashville is realistically out of the playoff chase, although not yet mathematically eliminated. The Predators are 3-0-1 in their last four games. That includes a 6-1 home blowout win over Buffalo in Nashville last night.
On the injury front, rookie defenseman Seth Jones (suspected concussion) and veteran forwards Paul Gaustad (upper body) and Patrick Eaves (upper body) are out of the lineup.