A day after making a blockbuster trade for defenseman Chris Tanev, the Dallas Stars face a division rival as the Winnipeg Jets come to town.
The Stars are in the midst of a 1-3-3 stretch where injuries have taken their toll and the lead for first place in the Central Division has dwindled to zero, and now Winnipeg - the team they are tied with for first - comes to Dallas for a big showdown.
Dallas finished a one-and-done road trip to Colorado Tuesday with a 5-1 loss in a potential first or second round playoff match-up, bringing the Avalanche to within two points of the Jets and Stars. The defensive performance was enough to make a trade for defenseman Chris Tanev happen sooner rather than later.
While Tanev will not play Thursday against the Jets, he should be ready to suit up on Saturday against the Sharks.
The trade solidifies a defense that has showed some weaknesses over the recent slump while being challenged with injuries to Jani Hakanpaa and Nils Lundqvist. Hakanpaa struggled in his return to action Tuesday and got victimized for two goals in under a minute on the same shift to turn a competitive 2-1 game into a 4-1 blowout for the Avs. Lundqvist was a full participant in practice this week, but was not ready to return for Monday or Tuesday's games. He will play against Winnipeg, though.
Now back at home, the Stars have to gear up again, this time against a gritty Jets team led by former Stars coach Rick Bowness that has won four in a row and seven of their last eight games. Winnipeg beat wild card hopeful St. Louis 4-2 at home in front of Commissioner Gary Bettman on Tuesday. Bettman was in town addressing the attendance issues Winnipeg has faced this season, but the Jets have been giving fans every reason to attend recently. Backup Laurent Brossoit made 36 of 38 saves in the win over the Blues.
Connor Hellebuyck is set to start in goal for the third time this season against Dallas. Hellebuyck has continued his Vezina Trophy caliber season this month, winning five of his seven starts. Despite his excellent season, he lost both games against the Stars back in November, allowing two and three goals in the prior games.
Projected lines:
Robertson-Hintz-Pavelski
Benn-Johnston-Stankoven
Marchment-Duchene-Dellandrea
Steel-Faksa-Smith
Harley-Heiskanen
Suter-Lundkvist
Lindell-Hakanpaa
Oettinger
Wedgewood
Lundkvist slots back into the line-up for the first time since taking a hit to the head by Jeremy Lauzon in the 9-2 win over Nashville earlier this month in place of Joel Hanley.
After shifting Sam Steel up to play with Matt Duchene and Mason Marchment, head coach Pete DeBoer moved Ty Dellandrea back with the duo and swapped Steel back to the fourth line in the middle of the game Tuesday. Dellandrea has shown more offensive jump since becoming a regular when Evgenii Dadonov got injured, but is not converting on his bevy of chances.
Losing Tyler Seguin has left a void on the second line, but the addition of Logan Stankoven has helped make up for it. Stankoven has joined Jamie Benn and Wyatt Johnston and looked right at home, scoring in his last two games. While Seguin is out, that line has quickly become the Stars most dangerous and should pick up the slack as the new second line.
Puck drop against the Jets is at 7 p.m. CST and can be seen on Bally Sports Southwest.
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