Stars aim to extend their hot streak against the surging Sharks, featuring a showdown with young phenom Macklin Celebrini.
On Friday, the Dallas Stars end the week by returning home for a thrilling Western Conference clash against the rising San Jose Sharks, who have shown more promise than expected this season. The Stars have started off the season with a bang, going 18-5-5 with the only team ahead of them in the race for the President's trophy being the red hot Colorado Avalanche. Being lost amongst the shuffle is a growing San Jose team that has been in the basement of the league regularly over the last few seasons but now find themselves with a winning record at 13-12-3 after losing their first six games of the season.
A major storyline for the Stars heading into Friday is breakout sensation Macklin Celebrini, the first overall pick in 2024. He has been sensational this season with 14 goals and 26 assists, giving him 40 points in 28 games and the second-most in the NHL. This will be the Stars’ first look at the revitalized Sharks, setting up a compelling end-of-week matchup for fans.
Lineup Storylines
Dallas did quite well in their first game without Tyler Seguin after the veteran forward was announced likely done for the remainder of the season with an ACL injury. Shifting the lines, Sam Steel jumped up to the top six with Wyatt Johnston and Mikko Rantanen in a move that has been seen before while Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz joined forces with captain Jamie Benn. The lines from Wednesday's 3-0 shutout win over the New Jersey Devils are expected to stay the same with the top two lines both contributing a goal.
In between the pipes, Jake Oettinger has been solid this season between the pipes and could start Friday but it is not yet confirmed. The 26-year-old netminder has won four straight starts over San Jose but in his career has a human 2.97 goals against average in eight career games versus the Sharks.
The defense for Dallas has been the strength of the team with the third-best goals against per game average in the league at 2.57 that mildly beats out the Stars lethal offense that is averaging 3.43 goals per game for the fifth-best scoring average in the league. Everything is going well for this team and makes head coach Glen Gulutzan's job far easier as he can set it and forget it when it comes to the lineup.
For San Jose, the focus will be on keeping their offensive firepower alive, led by the dynamic young duo of Celebrini and 2023 fourth overall pick Will Smith. While Smith lags behind Celebrini in points with 27, the pair have proven to be a formidable scoring threat, combining for 26 goals this season, accounting for 32.5 per cent of the Sharks’ total 80 goals. The Stars will need to monitor them closely and develop game plans to contain these rising stars if they hope to avoid an upset.
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Player & Betting Trends (Presented By BetMGM)
DAL ML (-278) | SJS ML (+220)
DAL -1.5 (-110) | SJS +1.5 (-110)
O/U 6.0 Goals
The Stars have dominated this matchup in recent years, with Macklin Celebrini having never beaten Dallas in his young career. San Jose has dropped six straight games to Dallas, with the Sharks’ last win in this matchup coming in mid-January of 2023. This matchup is one the Stars’ offense normally targets as a big night, having scored three or more goals in nine straight games against the Sharks. These two teams will likely again produce a high-scoring game, as they have combined for six or more goals in 19 of their last 25 matchups.
Red-hot winger Jason Robertson should be able to continue his streak, recording points in ten of his 12 career games against San Jose and in nine straight matchups, totaling seven goals and seven assists for 14 points. San Jose's offense has largely run through their two young players, Celebrini and Smith, but their linemate, veteran winger Tyler Toffoli, may be the one to get things going.
The 33-year-old has benefited greatly from playing on the top line, recording 18 points in 28 games this season, and he also has a strong history versus Dallas, earning points in seven of his last nine games against the Stars for a total of seven points. With the added boost of two red-hot forwards on his line, he will almost certainly continue this trend.
Goalie Matchup
Dallas: Jake Oettinger (Season: 11-4-2 record, 2.70 GAA, .904 SV% | VS SJ: 6-2-0 record, 2.97 GAA, .876 SV% in eight games)
San Jose: Alex Nedeljkovic (Season: 3-5-3 record, 3.19 GAA, .893 SV% | VS DAL: 2-4-1 record, 3.45 GAA, .877 SV% in nine games)
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