Dallas and Vancouver battle for the first time this season.
Two win streaks are on the line Friday night as the Stars host the Vancouver Canucks at the American Airlines Center.
This is the first of three meetings this season between the two teams, and both teams are achieving success despite recent turmoil amongst their rosters.
For Dallas, the injury bug has made up for a pretty healthy year overall last season, knocking out Tyler Seguin until the playoffs, Mason Marchment for the last month and now Miro Heiskanen for an undisclosed amount of time. Heiskanen suffered a knee injury in Tuesday night's win against Vegas on a low hit by Mark Stone, who was knocked off balance by an errant stick from Roope Hintz.
Heiskanen's void opens up the door for Thomas Harley to step in as the number one defenseman on the team. Harley practiced with the top power play unit, with newly recalled Kyle Capobianco taking point on the second unit. Harley showed his ability to play heavy minutes last season when Heiskanen was out during the middle part of the regular season, and will be relied on heavily once again.
Nils Lundkvist might have been the likely replacement on the second power play unit, but the blueliner was placed on injured reserve dating back to Jan. 21 with an injury that is most likely just a day-to-day ailment.
The forward lines will stay the same as Tuesday against Vegas, meaning Brendan Smith will continue to play on the fourth line instead of jumping back into the defensive ranks.
Meanwhile for Vancouver, the turmoil comes not in the form of injuries, but rather in a locker room rift between stars J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson. The squabble has been rumored for several months now, but it seems to be coming to a head now as Miller has formally requested a trade away from the Canucks. Dallas has even been rumored to be a landing spot for Miller, but nothing is solid at this point and even less so after the Heiskanen injury.
Despite that locker room distraction, the Canucks have ripped off three wins in a row and are coming off wins against Central Division opponents Nashville and St. Louis.
The Stars also have three wins in a row, capped off by a comeback 4-3 overtime win in Vegas on Tuesday thanks to a Wyatt Johnston hat trick. Jake Oettinger is back in net after making 25 saves on 28 shots against the Golden Knights.
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