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Stars begin pivotal stretch vs. Ducks (Mar 09, 2018)
How the Dallas Stars play on the road from here on out will likely determine if they're headed to the postseason for only the third time since 2009.
And for the immediate future, they'll hope that their former starting goaltender can push them closer to the playoffs.
Prior to a make-or-break six-game swing, the Stars look to avoid their first three-game skid since mid-December when they welcome the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night.
The Stars currently are fourth in the Central Division and hold the first wild-card spot. Following this contest, Dallas (37-24-6) embarks on a trip with stops across Eastern Canada, Pittsburgh, Washington and Winnipeg. The Stars play 10 of their final 15 on the road, where they're 14-14-3.
Starter Ben Bishop (26-17-4, 2.49 goals-against average, five shutouts) suffered a knee injury in Monday's 3-2 overtime loss at American Airlines Center to the Ottawa Senators. He sat out a 2-0 road loss the Nashville Predators with Kari Lehtonen stopping 32 of 33 shots.
"We have not (been) able to keep rolling our game," Lehtonen said. "We seem to find it here and there and not often enough."
Coach Ken Hitchcock had good -- and not so good -- news on Thursday.
"Ben is feeling much better today. He's going to come with us on the road trip and we're hopeful that he gets on the ice sometime next week," he said.
So the Stars will stay with Lehtonen (11-7-2, 2.30 GAA, one shutout), who has 303 wins as a starter under his belt.
"I'm comfortable where my game is," the 14-year veteran said after the loss to the Predators. "It's (an) exciting time for me to get to play and hopefully Ben comes back soon."
Since joining the Stars in February 2010, Lehtonen is 8-7-4 with a 2.41 GAA and two shutouts versus Anaheim. He has not faced the Ducks in Dallas since Oct. 31, 2014, and the native of Finland is 0-1-2 in his last three home starts against Anaheim.
Also on the injury front, Hitchcock said center Radek Faksa (foot) and defenseman Esa Lindell (knee) would be available to play Friday after two-game absences for both if they're OK after practice.
Dallas has alternated wins and losses in its last eight home games, including five one-goal decisions. The Stars have scored 16 goals while winning three straight at home over the Ducks.
Jamie Benn collected a goal and six assists during that home winning streak. Benn is third on the club with 58 points, one behind Alexander Radulov and four in back of Tyler Seguin.
Despite two third-period goals from Rickard Rakell, Anaheim (34-22-12) fell 4-2 to the Predators on Thursday.
"I thought we played well at the end of the game," Rakell told the team's official website. "We kept coming at them. We know we can be a good team if we play like that for 60 minutes."
The Swedish winger has eight goals and an assist in a five-game streak, leaving him three tallies shy of matching the 33 he led the team with last season. He has only one assist in seven career meetings with Dallas.
Rakell is not the only Duck on a scoring binge. Center Ryan Getzlaf notched two assists, and has 10 helpers and 11 points in a four-game run. Getzlaf, who needs one goal to reach double digits for the 13th straight season, has two goals and five assists in his last seven games in Dallas.
After John Gibson made 24 saves Thursday and given that Anaheim is playing games on consecutive nights, Ryan Miller (8-5-6, 2.52 GAA, three shutouts) may get the call in goal.
Like Lehtonen, Miller has transitioned down from being a starter. However, he stopped 41 shots in a 2-0 win over the Stars on Feb. 21 in Southern California.
Miller is fourth among active goaltenders with 366 career wins. Lehtonen is tied with Nashville's Pekka Rinne for sixth with 306.
The Ducks are 4-1-4 in the second of back-to-back games this season.
