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Stars Gameday: 11/1/18 @ TOR

November 1, 2018, 4:10 AM ET [3 Comments]
Bill Meltzer
Dallas Stars Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Looking for back-to-back road wins after earning their first victory of the season away from the friendly confines of the American Airlines Center, Jim Montgomery's Dallas Stars (6-5-0) are in Ontario on Thursday to take on Mike Babcock's Toronto Maple Leafs (8-4-0). Game time is 6:00 p.m. CDT. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Southwest.

This is the second and final meeting of the season between the teams. On Oct. 9, the teams played a high-scoring game in Dallas with the Maple Leafs prevailing, 7-4.

Thursday's game is the Stars' third of a six-game road trip. Last season, the Stars were a formidable team at home and a struggling one on the road. That trend has continued through the early part of this season, but the Stars (after suffering a 4-2 setback in Detroit at the hands of the lowly Red Wings) earned a 4-1 win in Montreal on Tuesday. Jason Spezza hit the 1,000-game mark for his NHL career.

After missing four games with a lower-body injury, veteran right winger Alexander Radulov returned to the Stars lineup on Tuesday, rejoining regular linemates Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. However, Radulov is now injured again and is doubtful for the game in Toronto.

With Benn and Seguin in a mini-slump offensively, the two could be separated to play with different linemates. The team held an optional practice on Wednesday, so combination changes are not yet clear. Tyler Pitlick and Brett Ritchie were healthy scratches in the Montreal game but both could back in the lineup against the Maple Leafs.

The Leafs are without the injured Auston Matthews but are still plenty formidable offensively even with the young superstar center sidelined. However, the team is coming off a 3-1 home loss to the Calgary Flames on Monday. The game was scoreless until the third period before the Flames opened up a 2-0 lead. Nazem Kadri (power play, 3rd) got Toronto back within a goal. However, a late empty netter restored a final two-goal margin of victory for the Flames.
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