The Dallas Stars take on the Philadelphia Flyers for the second and final time during the regular season.
The Stars head east for a four-game road trip after a big win over the Los Angeles Kings, kicking things off on Broad Street against the Philadelphia Flyers.
The two teams played each other in October when the Stars won 5-4 in overtime. The Stars blew a 4-2 third period lead by allowing two short-handed goals in the same power play, allowing three shorties in total.
The Stars have since shaped up their power play but the Flyers are coming in hot on a four-game win streak. While the Stars aren't on a streak of substance, they are 6-3-1 in their last ten.
What to watch for:
- Battle of the penalty kills: The Flyers are currently in second at 86.3% and the Stars are in third at 84.9%. The major difference is that the Stars power play ranks 10th in the league, whereas the Flyers sit dead last at 32nd.The Stars and Flyers are currently tied in first with the Calgary Flames for short-handed goals with ten. Travis Konecny scored two of the three against the Stars in the first meeting and currently has five for the season.
- Earlier in the season, Wyatt Johnston went 16 games without scoring. Despite seeing a few go in recently, he still has struggled to find the back of the net but definitely not due to a lack of effort. He is top five on the team in shots on goal, and gets good chances every game. Last game, head coach Pete DeBoer shuffled the lines and put Johnston with Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz. During that game, Johnston had a goal and an assist.Johnston's speed and play-making abilities compliment this line well. Though it is a small sample size, watching this line on the ice is easy on the eyes. Johnston brings a faster element than Joe Pavelski, who moved to the third line.
- Esa Lindell has quietly had five points in his last five games The timing of this is partly due to the absence of Miro Heiskanen, who generally drives the offense. Lindell's ice time hasn't changed much, thanks to Thomas Harley and Nils Ludkvist stepping up their minutes, but all six other defensemen in the lineup have had to try and spread the offensive production out, and he has quietly gone about his business and helped the team continue to get wins.
Heiskanen was supposed to join the team on the road trip, indicating he could have been ready to play in at least one of the four games. That plan has changed, and he is currently still in Dallas. There is a chance he could still rejoin the team sometime during the trip, but as of now, the Stars are still playing the waiting game. He has missed six games now since suffering an injury in the game against the Colorado Avalanche.
Projected lines:
Robertson-Hintz-Johnston
Marchment-Duchene-Seguin
Benn-Steel-Pavelski
Smith-Faksa-Dadanov
Suter-Lundkvist
Lindell-Hakanpaa
Harley-Hanley
Oettinger
Wedgewood
Some good news for Dallas is the return of Scott Wedgewood to the lineup after missing one game due to an injury in the game against the Chicago Blackhawks. With a back-to-back looming after the Flyers game, Wedgewood seems ready to go when called upon.
Puck drop is at 6 p.m. CST and can be seen on Bally Sports Southwest.
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