After a brutal loss against the Ottawa Senators, the Stars look to regroup in their last game of a four-game road trip.
The Dallas Stars are coming off what could qualify as their worst loss of the season against the Ottawa Senators and need a win in Carolina to avoid going winless on their four game road trip.
The Stars were unable to get any part of their game going in Ottawa, only registering 15 shots and giving the struggling Sens one of their most complete performances of the season.
The Stars march into Carolina, where the Hurricanes are coming off a 1-0 win against the red-hot Florida Panthers on Thursday. Sebastian Aho called game with less than twenty seconds to go in the third period to seal their second 1-0 home win of the month.
Hurricanes goalie Pyotr Kochetkov has given Carolina much needed stability in net after the team spent much of the season with a team save percentage under .900. Kochetkov has only allowed nine goals over his last six starts, with two shutouts in that stretch.
Meanwhile, the Stars are currently on a four-game losing streak (0-2-2), which is very uncharacteristic since head coach Pete DeBoer took over, and need to bounce back to remain at the top of the Central Division. Dallas has been riddled with injuries recently, and the trend continues against Carolina. Nils Lundkvist and Jani Hakanpaa still won't be back because they didn't even join the team on the road trip. The Stars once again will rely on call-up Derrick Pouliot, who has been serviceable so far.
Logan Stankoven was held out of the Texas Stars game yesterday and was officially called up today, with his family reportedly joining him in Carolina. All indications point to Stankoven making his much anticipated NHL debut in Raleigh.
Tyler Seguin was announced Saturday morning as having a lower body injury, which will keep him out of the lineup against the Canes. Dellandrea jumps up to fill his spot, while Stankoven looks like he will fit in next to Wyatt Johnston and Jamie Benn. This could be a move to see how Stankoven would fit on the third line once Seguin is healthy again, rather than just a plug and play on a line that has been too good to suddenly break up.
Projected lines:
Robertson-Pavelski-Johnston
Marchment-Duchene-Dellandrea
Benn-Johnston-Stankoven
Steel-Faksa-Smith
Harley-Heiskanen
Suter-Hanley
Lindell-Pouliot
Puck drop is at 7 PM CST, a one hour later start for a typical east coast game, and the game will be televised on Bally Sports Southwest.
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