Panthers at Stars
The Dallas Stars used a strong road trip to draw within one point of third place in the Central Division and look to continue the momentum when they host the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night. The Stars capped a 3-0-1 trek by demolishing Buffalo 7-1 and have earned points in 10 of 13 (9-3-1) entering the opener of a three-game homestand.
"This was a huge road trip for us with how the division is right now," Dallas defenseman John Klingberg said after the rout of the Sabres. "We have confidence, and we're just trying to build more confidence." Captain Jamie Benn had a goal and an assist at Buffalo and also scored twice in a 4-3 shootout loss at home to Florida on Nov. 14. Since winning five in a row to close out the calendar year, the Panthers have dropped five of seven (2-4-1) while facing a string of top playoff contenders. Florida has won only one third of its 24 road games (8-13-3) but emerged victorious in six of its last seven trips to Dallas.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, FS Florida, FS Southwest (Dallas)
ABOUT THE PANTHERS (19-20-6): Jonathan Huberdeau scored twice in Florida's win over Dallas in mid-November and also has tallied seven times in the last 11 games while riding a seven-game point streak. Center Aleksander Barkov, who scored and set up another in the early-season matchup, had four goals in the last six games. Harri Sateri made his first NHL start in Saturday's 4-3 loss at Nashville, ending a string of 17 consecutive starts by James Reimer, who is 3-1-0 with a 2.20 goals-against average versus Dallas.
ABOUT THE STARS (27-17-4): Mattias Janmark is three goals and three points from matching the production of his rookie campaign in 2016-17 after scoring twice and collecting an assist in mauling of Buffalo. Radek Faksa matched Janmark by scoring his 12th goal, which matched his previous high from last season, to give coach Ken Hitchcock the second-wave production he seeks -- especially crucial given Martin Hanzal's ongoing physical issues. Hanzal will sit out Tuesday after pulling a muscle in Saturday's win.
OVERTIME
1. Benn has three goals and six assists during a seven-game point streak.
2. Panthers F Vincent Trochek has three goals and three assists during a four-game point streak.
3. Klingberg has 15 points over his last 10 games to boost his total to 46, tops among NHL defensemen.