Pregame Notes (Game 40): Stars Hoping for Season Sweep Against Wild
The Dallas Stars look to complete the season sweep on the second half of a home-and-home series against the Minnesota Wild.
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports - Pregame Notes (Game 40): Stars Hoping for Season Sweep Against WildWednesday marks the first meeting between these two teams in Dallas since Game 5 of the first round of last year's Stanley Cup Playoffs, where the Stars went on to win the series and move on the second round.
The Stars are currently up 2-0 on this season's series, winning the first game 8-3 and the second 4-0. Minnesota will be playing with a fire under them to redeem themselves after being shutout by AHL call-up goalie Matt Murray. The Wild will still be without several key pieces of their team that were missing on Monday as well, so it will have to be a team effort to rebound against a hungry Stars team chasing important points.
What to watch for:
- Between the two games played, 21 penalties have been given out to the Stars and Wild. The Stars are 6/10 on the power play, helped out by a whopping five power-play goals in the first game. Meanwhile, the Wild are only 1/11, and to make matter worse, they have given up four short-handed goals.
- Jason Robertson has 16 points in 10 games against the Wild in his career with nine goals and seven assists. Though it's a small sample size, Robertson continued the trend by scoring a power-play goal last game. He's quickly following in the footsteps of Tyler Seguin in becoming a Wild killer.
- Miro Heiskanen is still out, leaving the rest of the defense to fill his role. After being on the ice for all four goals against in the game against the Nashville Predators, Esa Lindell and Jani Hakanpaa saw the least amount of ice time during 5v5 on Monday. The Joel Hanley-Thomas Harley pairing played well, as did Nils Lundqvist aside Ryan Suter. Helped out by the forwards, the Stars played real team defense as the game went on, stifling Minnesota for only two shots the entire third period. The defensive unit will try and carry that success through the next three games against divisional opponents.
Projected lines:
Robertson-Hintz-Pavelski
Marchment-Duchene-Seguin
Benn-Johnston-Dadonov
Steel-Faksa-Smith
Suter-Lundkvist
Lindell-Hakanpaa
Harley-Hanley
Wedgeood
Murray
After Murray's start on Monday, it's back to Scott Wedgewood for the 11th time in the past 12 games. Jake Oettinger is very close to returning to the starter's crease for Dallas, but Murray will serve as the backup after being sent down briefly on Tuesday, as a paper transaction.
The Dallas Stars are still looking for their first win on home ice in 2024. Despite being able to boast one of the league's best road records, the Stars still look for consistency at home, having sent the fans home frustrated with recent home performances outside of the New Year's Eve drubbing of the Blackhawks.
Fans should note that their energy is needed even earlier than usual, as puck drop is at 6:30 p.m. CST to accommodate being the first game of a doubleheader on TNT.
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