The Dallas Stars have played eight straight games with no more than a single day off. That changes Friday night. The Stars haven’t played since Monday. As an added bonus, the extended break has been at home.
The difficulty, of course, is getting back to the grind. Going into Monday nights victory over the Detroit Red Wings, the Stars were in a bit of a slump. Perhaps a regression after a hot start. Exhaustion is another option, following a road heavy stretch without time to rest or practice.
Nothing like a back-to-back set of games, with travel, to get the blood flowing. First up – the Ottawa Senators.
Ottawa is last in points in the East. Not surprising – the Senators have only played 23 games this season, two less than another other team in the NHL. Of course, their 22 points in 23 games isn’t playoff caliber, but there is room for a turnaround – and they’re more middle of the pack than dead last.
The Achilles Heal for Ottawa has been special teams. Neither the power play (22nd in the league) nor the penalty kill (30th in the league) have been good. Worse still, the team leads the NHL in penalty minutes per game. The team plays best in low event games, then depending on some of their top end, young and skilled players to pull out wins.
Dallas Stars Lineup
Jason Robertson (21) – Roope Hintz (24) – Joe Pavelski (16)
Mason Marchment (27) – Matt Duchene (95) – Tyler Seguin (91)
Jamie Benn (14) – Wyatt Johnston (53) – Evgenii Dadonov (63)
Craig Smith (15) – Radek Faksa (12) – Sam Steel (18)
Ryan Suter (20) – Miro Heiskanen (4)
Esa Lindell (23) – Jani Hakanpää (2)
Thomas Harley (55) – Joel Hanley (44)
Jake Oettinger (29)
Scott Wedgewood (41)
Heiskanen had one of his best games of the year against Detroit. He didn’t just hit the scoresheet, but his defense – always strong – was particularly noticeable.
Ottawa Senators Lineup
Brady Tkachuk (7) – Joshua Norris (9) – Claude Giroux (28)
Vladimir Tarasenko (91) – Tim Stutzle (18) – Drake Batherson (19)
Dominik Kubalik (81) – Ridly Greig (71) – Mathieu Joseph (21)
Parker Kelly (27) – Rourke Chartier (49) – Mark Kastelic (12)
Jake Sanderson (85) – Jacob Bernard-Docker (24)
Jakob Chychrun (6) – Artem Zub (2)
Erik Brannstrom (26) – Travis Hamonic (23)
Joonas Korpisalo (70)
Anton Forsberg (31)
Tkachuk and Stutzle are the young guns, and Ottawa reached deep to get them Giroux and Tarasenko as linemates. That leaves a few missing pieces, and some questionable third and fourth lines. This is exacerbated by the 41 game suspension of Shane Pinto for sports wagering activity.
Defensively, the Senators are young, but not without talent. Having Thomas Chabot on long-term injured reserve doesn’t help, but the team rolls three pairs out without any glaring weaknesses.
In net, Korpisalo is 1A to Forsberg’s 1B – and both have numbers that scream average. Korpisalo took the 4-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night, so expect Forsberg in net against the Stars.
Keys to the Game
Rust vs. B2B. After a few games off, the Stars need to find their legs. It’s not like they’ve been getting off to fast starts anyway, but a few days at home is exactly the type of thing that can reinvigorate the slow start problem. The Senators are on the back end of two straight, with travel. In most cases, you’d call this a “scheduled win” for Dallas.
Special Teams. The Senators take penalties and they aren’t that great at killing them. Get on the job.
Roll Lines. The Stars depth should be an advantage. At some point, the skill in the ice should slant things Dallas’s way.