Dallas hosts Anaheim for the first of two games back at the American Airlines Center.
While the Dallas Cowboys continue spiraling downward as they get set to play their Monday night game just down the road in Arlington, the Dallas Stars have a game against Anaheim to continue their upward rise after an outstanding three win week where they outscored the Cowboys not once but twice.
The Stars are back at home after a gritty 2-1 win over the Minnesota Wild where Mason Marchment scored two goals and Jake Oettinger stood tall at the end of the game to preserve the win. The Stars are on a three game win streak after scoring seven goals in two straight games prior to the win in Minnesota, and are now at home for two straight games, where they are 7-0-0 at American Airlines Center.
The Stars have seemed to find their groove after a stretch where the team went 5-5, and they look to keep the momentum going against the struggling Ducks. The Ducks, who are 28th in the league, are still in the midst of a rebuild and are focused on building their young team up to be competitive in the years to come.
Anaheim is coming off a comeback 6-4 win at home against the Detroit Red Wings, scoring four goals in the third period. The Ducks got goals from six different players, including Trevor Zegras, Troy Terry and Cutter Gauthier, who scored his first goal of the season after getting traded from Philadelphia this off-season.
What to watch for:
Mason Marchment is on a three-game point streak, scoring nine points in the last three games, four goals and five assists. He is now on pace to be more than a point per game player with 17 points in 15 games.
Ilya Lyubushkin, who spent 55 games on the Ducks last season, has already surpassed his point total with Anaheim in 39 fewer games. Lyubushkin only recorded four assists before his trade deadline move to Toronto, and he already has five assists this year for Dallas. Lyubushkin's play has exceeded many people's expectations so far this season, and his pairing with Thomas Harley has proved to be a steady partnership.
The Ducks have six wins on the year, but their strongest regulation win came against the New York Islanders, who are in sixth place in the Metropolitan Division. Anaheim has two wins over the San Jose Sharks and have lost every game against opponents with a winning percentage over .500 on the season.
Lukas Dostal has played the majority of games for the Ducks, posting a stellar .922 save percentage over 12 games despite having a losing record. John Gibson has just recently come back from missing the beginning of the season due to injury, winning both of his two starts since returning.
Projected lines:
Robertson-Hintz-Dadonov
Marchment-Duchene-Seguin
Benn-Johnston-Stankoven
Steel-Back-Bourque
Lindell-Heiskanen
Harley-Lybushkin
Smith-Dumba
DeSmith
Oettinger
Puck drop is at 7 p.m. CDT and can be seen on Victory+ locally and ESPN+ in out of market areas.
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