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After their last deflating 4-1 loss to Buffalo, the Dallas Stars are in desperate need of a win to turn this homestand around.
The Stars and Sabres will dance tonight at 7:30 pm CT. From the first moments of the first period through the last of the third (and perhaps beyond), Fox Sports Southwest (FSSW) and 1310 AM/ 96.7FM The Ticket will be keeping you updated about all the action at the AAC. And we’ll be there in the trenches with you, too.
Records and Scores
The Dallas Stars are at a critical point in their season; if it’s ever been do or die, that time is right now. With a 19-20-10 record and coming off a 3-2 loss in their first shootout experience of the season, the Dallas Stars are continuing in a low point that has become a low stretch.
The Buffalo Sabres are 20-18-9 on their season, with their last game an opposite of the Stars’. Defeating Nashville in a 5-4 overtime decision. That tally makes three straight overtime wins for the Sabres, who have also won four straight on the road and will be looking to make it five.
Storylines
Overtime & out of time
Let’s cut to the chase here: we need to pray that this contest does not go into overtime. If it does, the results are intuitively obvious and do not favor the Stars. Dallas has earned a lousy 2-10 record in overtime games this season, while the Sabres are clearly no stranger to victorious post-regulation experiences.
More from Blackout Dallas
It all comes down to the pressure and determination. For the Stars, who more often than not are rallying in the third and throwing it all they have in order to come back from a sloppy first, the overtime effort can come at a time when they are exhausted from their own inconsistent play.
Be the change you want to see in the world
Uh, unless you’re the Dallas Stars. The Stars have become so accustomed to changing up every aspect of their game when something goes wrong, that they seem to give a solid approach no time to work out its understandable flaws.
However, Jamie Benn acknowledged this after their loss to Minnesota: “I think we have to stay positive around here, stick with it, stick to the game plan because it’s working. We are playing an okay game, and sooner or later we will get a result.”
Preach, Captain. Hopefully, tonight the Dallas Stars will not feature any crazy line-switching shenanigans. Hopefully, they will not pull a goalie after he has a few tough breaks. The point here is for the Stars to learn what it means to tough it out and pull through upsets in the plan. That is the only way to build mental toughness and a winning attitude.
Atonement
This will be the last time the Stars and Sabres meet this season. The Sabres seem to have fared much better against the Western conference than the Stars have against the East, which is a strange, flip-flopped thing to consider.
The Stars’ loss to the Sabres just last week was a bit of an embarrassing one that we as fans, and probably they as players, didn’t fully see coming. It seemed that in that game, every demon the Stars have been fighting all season came out to play.
First was the penalty kill, which surrendered two goals. The Stars’ penalty kill is 29th in the league at 74.2%, whereas the Sabres sit behind them in 30th place. Their power play, however, makes up for it, at 7th place in the league. The Stars must be careful of their penalty kill play tonight, but more importantly, must be mindful of their play in general to prevent the silly penalties that the Stars can sometimes have an issue with.
The Stars also struggled offensively against the Sabres last time, with Jamie Benn still in his scoring drought and things not much better for everyone else. Faksa and Hudler combined for the Stars’ only goal. This time around, the Stars are in a better place offensively. In order to take their place in the win column tonight, the Stars will have to focus on keeping all aspects of their play consistent.
Injury Report
The Dallas Stars’ injury woes live on, with Radek Faksa (lower body), Johnny Oduya (lower body), Jamie Oleksiak (hand), Mattias Janmark (knee), and Ales Hemsky (hip) all out.
The Buffalo Sabres will be without Jake McCabe (shoulder), Josh Gorges (hip), Johan Larsson (wrist, elbow), and Cody McCormick (blood clot).
Projected Lines
Dallas Stars
Jamie Benn – Cody Eakin – Patrick Eaves
Antoine Roussel – Jason Spezza – Tyler Seguin
Lauri Korpikoski – Devin Shore – Patrick Sharp
Curtis McKenzie – Adam Cracknell – Brett Ritchie
Buffalo Stars
Tyler Ennis – Ryan O’Reilly – Kyle Okposo
Marcus Foligno – Jack Eichel – Sam Reinhart
Evander Kane – Zemgus Girgensons – Brian Gionta
William Carrier – Cal O’Reilly – Matt Moulson
Dmitry Kulikov – Rasmus Ristolainen
Predictions
Even though it’s touch and go, I think the Stars are a better team, even just slightly, than the one they were the last time they played the Sabres. A lot has happened in the Stars world since the beginning of last week, and although not all of it resulted in wins, not all of it was bad either.
I’m going to say Stars take this one 3-2, and keep it to regulation. Cross your fingers with me!
