STARS VS. BLUE JACKETS PREVIEW
Coming off a 4-3 shootout win over the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night that propeled them back into wildcard playoff position in the Western Conference, the Dallas Stars (39-29-11) play host to the Columbus Blue Jackets (41-31-7) at the American Airlines Center tonight. Game time is 7:30 p.m. CDT. The match will be televised on Fox Sports Southwest.
Tonight's game is the rescheduled March 10 match that was postponed early in the first period after Stars' forward Rich Peverley collapsed on the Dallas bench due to a cardiac episode. The Blue Jackets led the game, 1-0, at the time.
In tonight's game, the Blue Jackets will start the game with a 1-0 lead on the scoreboard. However, both clubs can reset their lineups and a full 60 minutes of hockey will be played.
Tonight's game is the second and final match between the teams this season. On March 4 in Columbus, the Blue Jackets downed the Stars by a 4-2 count.
Last night in Dallas, the Stars captured a 4-3 shootout win over Nashville. Dallas held leads of 1-0 at the first intermission and 2-1 after the second period on the strength of goals by Alex Goligoski and Jamie Benn. However, the Stars were unable to nurse the one-goal lead through the third period and ended up having to rescue the much-needed second point via shootout. Tyler Seguin scored the winning goal. Kari Lehtonen made 27 regulation and overtime saves for Dallas.
For the Stars, the regulation and overtime win (ROW) tiebreaker advantage over the Phoenix Coyotes is already sewn up. As such, all that matters to Dallas is gaining wins by any means. With the Stars' win and the Coyotes' 4-3 overtime loss to Columbus last night, Dallas moved two points ahead of the Blue Jackets for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
The Columbus-Phoenix match was a seesaw affair. The Blue Jackets led 1-0, trailed 2-1 and then scored the next two goals before the Coyotes tied the game in the final 15 seconds of regulation. Ryan Johansen's 32nd goal of the season propelled the Blue Jackets to victory in overtime. Boone Jenner, Mark Letestu and Blake Comeau also scored for Columbus.
The 2013-14 stretch drive marks the fourth season in a row in which Dallas has gone into the final week of the regular season in control of its own playoff destiny. The club has come up short in each of the previous efforts, but stands a good chance of success this time around if it can overcome the Blue Jackets tonight.
In the meantime, the Blue Jackets are locked in a playoff battle of their own. Currently the lower wildcard seed in the Eastern Conference, the Blue Jackets' primary remaining goal is to catch the Philadelphia Flyers for third place in the Metropolitan Division. If Columbus wins tonight by any means, they will tie the Flyers in standings points but still trail in the ROW tiebreaker.
On the Dallas injury front, Peverley will miss the rest of the season. He underwent a heart procedure last month to correct the arrhythmia that contributed to his collapse on March 10. Additionally, Ray Whitney (lower body) and Aaron Rome (lower body) are listed as day-to-day.
For Columbus, power forward Nathan Horton (lower body) -- the power play goal scorer in the March 10 game before Peverley's medical emergency -- is doubtful for tonight's game. The club is also without R.J. Umberger (upper body) and Nick Foligno (lower body). Defenseman Nikita Nikitin (lower body) remains day-to-day.
Back on the night of the original March 10 meeting, the Stars were without Lehtonen (concussion). Tim Thomas (eight saves on nine shots) got the start in goal for Dallas, backed up by Cristopher Nilstorp. Meanwhile, backup Columbus netminder Curtis McElhinney got the start for the Blue Jackets, turning back all four shots he saw before play was halted.
The Stars have been running exclusively with Lehtonen in goal in recent weeks. It also seems likely that the Blue Jackets will tab defending Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky for another start in net tonight. Bobrovsky stopped 29 of 32 shots in last night's game against Phoenix.