The Dallas Stars take on the Washington Capitals in their last game before the All-Star break.
The All-Star break for all teams is less than a week away and the Dallas Stars only have one game left before they get a nine day break from action
They face a Washington Capitals team that is now five points back in a tight race for the final Eastern Conference wild card spot. The Caps are coming off a 6-2 loss against the Colorado Avalanche in a game where Nathan MacKinnon scored 4 goals against Capitals goaltender Charlie Lindgren.
The Stars are coming off a big 4-3 overtime win against the Anaheim Ducks, thanks to Thomas Harley's breakaway where he was able to finish high blocker side, beating John Gibson.
The last time the Stars and Capitals met on December 7, it ended in dramatic fashion in the shootout. The Stars had to come back three separate times to tie up the game, forcing it to overtime. Although overtime got a little dicey when Miro Heiskanen took a penalty with 1:12 to go, Dallas survived it and moved on to the shootout.
Jason Robertson was the first Star to shoot in the shootout and promptly scored. Scott Wedgwood made a save on all three Capitals attempts, sealing the win after two straight losses in Florida. This game was the last time the Stars were in a shootout, giving them a 2-1 record in the skills competition this season.
What to watch for:
- The Capitals are on a three-game losing streak, likely wanting to go into the All-Star break on a higher note. All three losses come to Central Division teams; the St Louis Blues, Minnesota Wild and the Colorado Avalanche
- Matt Duchene has only been held off the scoresheet three times in his last 14 games. He is up to 43 points, and has taken 100 shots on goal so far this season.
- It is Miro Heiskanen's second game back from injury. Heiskanen had to shake off some rust early in the Anaheim game, but scored the game-tying goal to allow the Stars to get two points.
- Alexander Ovechkin is having a down year by his standards. He only has eight goals and only two assists in his last four after missing three games with a lower body injury.
Projected lines:
Robertson-Hintz-Johnston
Marchment-Duchene-Seguin
Benn-Steel-Pavelski
Smith-Faksa-Dadonov
Harley-Heiskanen
Suter-Lundkvist
Lindell-Hakanpaa
Oettinger
Wedgewood
This is the first game of a back-to-back at the American Airlines Center, so it's a matinee start in Dallas. The ice will disappear shortly after the game ends to switch over to basketball as the Dallas Mavericks play the Sacramento Kings at 8 p.m.
Arrive early as the Stars will recognize Matt Duchene for reaching 1,000 games played earlier this season.
Puck drop is at 1 p.m. and can be seen on Bally Sports Southwest.
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