Line Combinations: Stars at Sabres

On Thursday, the Dallas Stars begin a short two-game road trip in Buffalo against the Sabres. It should be a hard-fought matchup between two teams that made the playoffs last season and are hoping to do it again.

Dallas had a rough start, dropping its first two games and being outscored 6-1 in the process. The Stars bounced back in a big way in game three, though, grabbing a decisive 5-0 victory over a San Jose Sharks team missing Macklin Celebrini.

They'll try to carry that momentum into Buffalo, where they'll face a Sabres squad dealing with early-season injuries and potentially missing several key players, including Josh Doan, Jason Zucker, and Connor Timmins.

Buffalo has still found a way to keep winning. After an opening-night loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Sabres rebounded with wins over the Chicago Blackhawks and an overtime thriller against the Minnesota Wild this past Tuesday.

They'll need to be at their best, however, as this series has leaned heavily in Dallas's favor lately. The Stars have won seven of their last ten and 17 of their last 24 meetings with Buffalo.

The game offers a few Stars a chance to get back on track like veteran winger Tyler Seguin, who is still working his way back from the ACL injury that ended his season last year and has yet to record a point this season.

History isn't on the 34-year-old's side either as he's recorded 19 points in 21 career games against the Sabres, however he has gone cold recently, picking up points in only two of his last five games against them.

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Wyatt Johnston, one of Dallas's top offensive producers, has also been quiet, with just one assist and no goals through three games. His track record against Buffalo doesn't offer much help, as he has only three goals and no assists in eight career games versus the Sabres with Thursday being a chance for him to turn things around.

One Star who could break out is Mikko Rantanen, who has 23 points (nine goals and 14 assists) in 18 career games against Buffalo. Still, he has yet to register a point in his two games against the Sabres since joining Dallas.

Robertson - Hintz - Benn

Steel - Johnston - Rantanen

Hryckowian - Hyry - Seguin

Back - Faksa - Blackwell

Lindell - Heiskanen

Harley - Lundkvist

Bichsel - Myers

Oettinger

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