The Dallas Stars hope to start off a critical five game stretch tonight against the suddenly resurgent Vancouver Canucks. After winning a season high five straight games, the Stars are just 2-2-0 in their last four and have seen their buffer on a playoff spot diminish considerably.
Marty Turco is scheduled to extend his franchise record games streak to 25 tonight, continuing what has been a remarkable run for the goalie following an abysmal start to the season. Turco has a 2.37 goals-against average during his games streak and has led the Stars on a charge up the standings. He stopped 28 of 29 shots in his last game against Phoenix, but it was one too many let in as Dallas fell 1-0.
Vancouver, after going 0-5-3 in a drop down the Western conference standings, have now won four straight games after last night's 4-3 come from behind win over Phoenix. Roberto Luongo is 4-2-3 since his return from injury, yet has allowed less than three goals just once in that span. The Canucks are finding ways to win despite their goaltender not playing great and are averaging 5.25 goals a game during their winning streak.
This game has all the making for a classic, playoff-style game with playoff positioning at stake. With their win last night the Canucks pulled ahead of the Stars in the West, although the Stars still hold a very slim advantage in points percentage. This is a must win game for both teams and I fully expect a close game until the end.
Key Injuries:
Vancouver: None. Dallas: RW Landon Wilson (ribs) is doubtful. Stats comparison, via NHL.com
 |
2008-2009 Team Stats |  |
| 60 | Points: | 59 |
| 26 | Wins: | 26 |
| 6 | Shutouts: | 2 |
| 12 | Power Play Rank: | 20 |
| 25 | Penalty Kill Rank: | 26 |
| .682 | Win % When Leading After 1: | .875 |
| .842 | Win % When Leading After 2: | .870 |
| .300 | Win % When Trailing After 1: | .320 |
| .200 | Win % When Trailing After 2: |
.056 |
Current Western conference standings:
| # | GP | W | L | OT | PTS | GF | GA | HOME | AWAY | L10 | ||
| 1 | SAN JOSE* | 52 | 37 | 7 | 8 | 82 | 178 | 123 | 23-2-3 | 14-5-5 | 5-2-3 | |
| 2 | DETROIT* | 55 | 37 | 11 | 7 | 81 | 208 | 159 | 20-4-2 | 17-7-5 | 6-3-1 | |
| 3 | CALGARY* | 55 | 32 | 18 | 5 | 69 | 171 | 160 | 20-7-3 | 12-11-2 | 5-4-1 | |
| 4 | CHICAGO | 52 | 30 | 14 | 8 | 68 | 175 | 134 | 14-4-5 | 16-10-3 | 6-4-0 | |
| 5 | ANAHEIM | 57 | 28 | 24 | 5 | 61 | 159 | 158 | 15-11-3 | 13-13-2 | 5-5-0 | |
| 6 | VANCOUVER | 54 | 26 | 20 | 8 | 60 | 164 | 159 | 13-11-4 | 13-9-4 | 4-3-3 | |
| 7 | DALLAS | 53 | 26 | 20 | 7 | 59 | 162 | 165 | 15-7-4 | 11-13-3 | 7-3-0 | |
| 8 | MINNESOTA | 54 | 28 | 23 | 3 | 59 | 139 | 124 | 17-10-3 | 11-13-0 | 6-4-0 | |
| 9 | EDMONTON | 54 | 27 | 23 | 4 | 58 | 153 | 168 | 13-11-3 | 14-12-1 | 5-4-1 | |
| 10 | COLUMBUS | 54 | 26 | 23 | 5 | 57 | 145 | 152 | 17-9-1 | 9-14-4 | 5-4-1 | |
| 11 | LOS ANGELES | 53 | 24 | 22 | 7 | 55 | 138 | 147 | 13-12-6 | 11-10-1 | 7-2-1 | |
| 12 | NASHVILLE | 55 | 26 | 26 | 3 | 55 | 135 | 156 | 15-10-1 | 11-16-2 | 6-4-0 | |
| 13 | PHOENIX | 56 | 25 | 26 | 5 | 55 | 140 | 168 | 16-10-2 | 9-16-3 | 2-8-0 | |
| 14 | ST LOUIS | 54 | 22 | 25 | 7 | 51 | 157 | 171 | 13-11-4 | 9-14-3 | 5-2-3 | |
| 15 | COLORADO | 55 | 25 | 29 | 1 | 51 | 148 | 169 | 16-13-0 | 9-16-1 | 3-7-0 |
As always, join us here for the live game thread, tonight at 7:00 PM CST