After sweeping a three-game road trip on the West Coast, the Stars return home to face the NHL's best team.
With 15 games left in the regular season, every game becomes crucial in the race for a division title and the NHL's No. 1 seed.
The Dallas Stars could move closer to both objectives with a win against the Florida Panthers Tuesday night at American Airlines Center. The Stars (40-17-9) lead the Central Division by two points over the Winnipeg Jets with 89 points. The Panthers are on top of the Atlantic Division with a 44-17-4 and a league-best 92 points.
Tuesday will mark the second and final meeting between the two teams this season. The Panthers outdueled Dallas 5-4 back on December 6, 2023 at Amerant Bank Arena. Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues had two goals and two assists on the night, while Thomas Harley and Mason Marchment each tallied a goal and an assist for the Stars.
Both teams are currently on a roll. Dallas is riding a five-game winning streak, its longest of the season, outscoring their opponents 24-12 during that span.
Florida is 17-3-0 over their last 20 games, and boast a league-high 48 road points (23-8-2). Meanwhile, the Stars are 6-0-2 in their last eight home games.
Sam Reinhart leads the Panthers in points (76), and goals (45). Jason Robertson is the points leader for Dallas (65), while Roope Hintz leads in goals with 26.
Things to Watch for:
- Stars captain Jamie Benn has eight points in his last eight games against Florida.
- Through the first eight NHL games of his career, Stars forward Logan Stankoven has recorded eight points, 22 shots and a +4 rating.
- Defenseman Miro Heiskanen has been on a scoring roll lately, registering 28 points (6-22-28) over 18 of his past 28 games.
- Two key Panthers suffered injuries in last Saturday's 5-1 win over the Calgary Flames. Evan Rodrigues will be a game-time decision Tuesday, while Aaron Ekblad will be out at least two weeks after a collision in the first period.
- The Panthers acquired forward Vladimir Tarasenko from the Ottawa Senators two days before the trade deadline, and he scored three points (2-1-3) March 9 against Calgary.
Projected Lines:
Robertson-Hintz-Pavelski
Marchment-Duchene-Steel
Benn-Johnston-Stankoven
Dellandrea-Faksa-Smith
Harley-Heiskanen
Lindell-Tanev
Suter-Hakanpaa
Oettinger
Wedgewood
The Stars will celebrate Hispanic culture during Tuesday's game with Hispanic Heritage Night. It marks the third year in a row for the celebration, which will feature a party on PNC Plaza before the game, plus in-arena performances by Monica Saldivar and Mexico 2000 Ballet Folklorico.
Saldivar, a native of Grand Prairie, was voted Best New Artist at the 2020 Tejano Music Awards. Mexico 2000 Ballet Folklorico was established in 1997 and has presented over 800 performances over the past 15 years.
The game will also be broadcast in Spanish on local radio station KDXX, 107.9 and 107.1, featuring Octavio Sequera on play-by-play and Pedro Silva as color analyst.
Puck drop is at 7 PM CT, and the game can be viewed on Bally Sports Southwest.
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