The Dallas Stars head to Tampa Bay to take on the Lightning.
Even four years removed now from the Stanley Cup Final in the Edmonton Bubble, every time the Dallas Stars and Tampa Bay Lightning play, there is still a bit of extra motivation for Dallas to get some revenge.
Dallas heads to Tampa for this iteration, having lost 4-0 last season in the Sunshine State. The two teams played a back-to-back home and home series last year, with the loss coming just two days after an 8-1 home win.
This is part of a three-game road trip where they will visit Carolina and end in Chicago before coming back to Dallas just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday.
The Stars are looking to continue the momentum after beating the San Jose Sharks 5-2 and getting some much needed contributions from their top line. The Stars coaching staff has been looking for a way to get Jason Roberston and Roope Hintz back to their typical production, but have been struggling to find a permanent linemate to pair with them.
This had a bit to do with Mavrik Bourque having a bit of a slow start to the season, making him less of an option on the third line with Jamie Benn and Logan Stankoven. After he started to look more comfortable, it gave head coach Pete DeBoer the flexibility to put Wyatt Johnston on the top line with Hintz and Robertson.
It is no surprise that in their first game back together in a while that all three of them scored. Johnston also needed a bit of an offensive boost, so the Stars are hoping that it is a sign that this line will now start contributing as expected. Benn also scored against the Sharks and Evgenii Dadonov finished the game off with a second empty net goal, following Hintz's.
The Lightning are coming off a high-scoring loss that did not end in their favor. After grabbing a 3-0 least in the first period against the Columbus Blue Jackets, the game ended up tied at 6-6 going into overtime, and Zach Werenski walked right down the slot to score the over time winner for Columbus. His overtime goal was his fifth point and second goal of the night. Tampa Bay seemed to be off to a very good start, but after being up by three early, it only took until the second minute into the second period for the Lightning to blow the lead. Tampa briefly trailed 6-5 after allowing a short-handed goal, but tied it up quickly after on the same power play.
The Bolts had six different goal scorers including Brayden Point and Brandon Hagel. Backup goaltender Jonas Johansson was in net and ended the game with a .836% save percentage, allowing seven goals on 43 shot attempts.
What to watch for:
- Hintz, who had a two-point night last game, has 12 points in his last 11 games against Tampa Bay dating back to March of 2021. Those 12 points include four goals and 8 assists.
- Head coach Pete DeBoer shouted out Oskar Back and complimented his 5v5 game and how he's done in his penalty kill minutes. With Bourque now in the lineup consistently, it has pushed Colin Blackwell out as the healthy scratch. Back got an assist on Dadonov's empty net goal Wednesday against the Sharks.
- Victor Hedman is on a four-game point streak, including one goal and four assists. The new captain leads Tampa Bay with 18 points, which is fourth in the NHL for defensemen. In his career against Dallas, he has 15 points in 30 games.
Projected lines:
Robertson-Hintz-Johnston
Marchment-Duchene-Seguin
Benn-Bourque-Stankoven
Steel-Back-Dadonov
Lindell-Heiskanen
Harley-Lybushkin
Smith-Dumba
Oettinger
DeSmith
Puck drop is at 6 p.m. CDT and can be seen on Victory+ locally and ESPN+ in out of market areas.
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