Stars face a brutal stretch starting with the struggling Golden Knights. Can Dallas maintain its win streak against a motivated Vegas team?
After winning 11 of their last 12 games, the Dallas Stars are heading into what could be their toughest stretch of the season. It begins Tuesday night against the Vegas Golden Knights in the first game of a challenging seven-game run.
One encouraging factor for Dallas is that five of those seven games will be played at home. Even so, the competition will be intense. After facing Vegas, the Stars will take on the Edmonton Oilers, Detroit Red Wings, Utah Mammoth, Colorado Avalanche, and Minnesota Wild before closing the stretch with another matchup against the Golden Knights.
Starting this run with a win will be important, especially since Vegas appears due for a turnaround. The Golden Knights have struggled recently, losing 12 of their last 17 games and seven of their past 10 road contests. While that slump has worked in Dallas’ favor so far, it also suggests that Vegas could soon bounce back.
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If the Stars want to maintain their momentum, they will need to keep the Golden Knights offense under control. Over Vegas’ last 17 games, only captain Mark Stone has produced at a point-per-game pace. During that same stretch, the team has averaged 2.88 goals per game while allowing 3.47 goals against per game, one of the seven worst defensive averages in the NHL during that period.
Despite their struggles, Vegas still sits just one point behind the Pacific Division lead and will be motivated to climb back into first place. Dallas will try to keep its hot streak alive with help from veteran forward Matt Duchene, who has been on a remarkable run. Over the Stars’ 12-game surge, Duchene has recorded eight goals and 10 assists for 18 points, marking one of the hottest stretches of his career.
Dallas Stars’ Expected Line Combinations vs. Calgary (Tuesday)
Robertson - Johnston - Bourque
Steel - Duchene - Benn
Bunting - Hryckowian - Erne
Blackwell - Back - Bastian
Lindell - Heiskanen
Harley - Lundkvist
Bichsel - Myers
Oettinger
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