Maple Leafs at Stars
The Dallas Stars hope to continue an offensive surge and extend their point streak through the All-Star break when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday. The Stars are 4-0-1 during their five-game run and 6-1-1 in their last eight to climb into a playoff position in the Western Conference, scoring a total of 13 goals in their last two contests after posting a 6-1 win over Florida on Tuesday.
“Sometimes you don’t get those bounces, or whatever you don’t get scoring much as you should,” Dallas right wing Alexander Radulov, who is riding an eight-game point streak, told reporters. “Now we get two games with more than five goals.” Stars captain Jamie Benn also takes an eight-game point streak into the matchup against the Maple Leafs, who won at Chicago 3-2 in overtime on William Nylander’s penalty shot just six seconds into the extra session. Mitch Marner and Nazem Kadri also scored in the win for Toronto, which has earned at least one point in seven of its last nine overall games (4-2-3) and is 2-0-1 on the road this month. The Maple Leafs have won five of the last six meetings but dropped a 6-3 decision at Dallas last January.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, TSN4 (Toronto), FS Southwest (Dallas)
ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (27-18-5): Nylander’s goal against the Blackhawks gave him 10 on the season as well as 34 points - two behind team leader Auston Matthews, who was kept off the scoresheet on Wednesday after recording three points in his previous two games. Kadri’s tally versus Chicago was just his second in 21 games and 15th overall while Marner notched his 33rd point as they combined for 13 shots. Rookie defenseman Travis Dermott continues to earn time on the blue line, posting a plus-1 rating in seven games since being recalled from the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League.
ABOUT THE STARS (28-17-4): Radulov has registered six goals and nine assists while Benn has notched four and six during their point streaks, with each player posting a plus-8 rating in that stretch. Defenseman John Klingberg leads the team with 48 points - one more than both Radulov and Benn - and has recorded 17 (two goals, 15 assists) along with a plus-12 rating in his last 11 contests to garner consideration for the Norris Trophy. Ben Bishop has played a big role in Dallas’ hot streak, going 6-2-1 with a .944 save percentage in his last nine games, but has gone just 7-5-0 with a .906 save percentage versus the Maple Leafs during his career.
OVERTIME
1. Toronto LW James van Riemsdyk notched an assist on Wednesday to snap a four-game drought and become the fifth player on the team with 30 points.
2. Dallas C Tyler Seguin has registered one point in his last four games but leads the team with 22 goals and has notched 22 points in 24 career contests against Toronto.
3. Nylander’s winner on Wednesday tied the record for the fastest overtime goal in NHL history.