Senators at Stars
The Dallas Stars began their five-game homestand with a loss but attempt to conclude it with a four-game point streak when they host the Ottawa Senators on Monday. Dallas, which occupies the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference and trails Minnesota by two points for third place in the Central Division, improved to 2-1-1 on the string at American Airlines Center with Saturday's 3-2 overtime triumph over St. Louis.
Captain Jamie Benn ended his 11-game goal-scoring drought at 3:04 of the extra session after helping set up Alexander Radulov's tying tally late in the third period, giving him five points during his four-game streak. Ottawa is wrapping up a four-game road trip during which it is 1-2-0, with all three contests being one-goal decisions. The Senators dropped a 2-1 decision in Arizona on Saturday, with Jean-Gabriel Pageau netting the lone tally to reach double digits for the fourth consecutive season. Ottawa is 1-5-1 in its last seven contests and sits only three points ahead of last-place Buffalo in the Eastern Conference.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, TSN5, RDS (Ottawa), FS Southwest (Dallas)
ABOUT THE SENATORS (22-32-10): Mark Stone leads the team with 60 points and is riding an eight-game streak during which he has collected two goals and 11 assists. The 25-year-old right wing is just four points away from matching the career high he set in 2014-15 after registering 10 multi-point performances over his last 17 contests. Bobby Ryan has notched seven points over his last six games, leaving him two shy of 500 for his career.
ABOUT THE STARS (37-23-5): Tyler Seguin notched a pair of assists against the Blues to increase his team-leading point total to 60, marking the sixth straight full season he has reached the plateau. The 26-year-old center had his four-game goal-scoring streak halted but has landed on the scoresheet in five consecutive contests, collecting five tallies and four assists during the run. Radulov's goal on Saturday left him two shy of the career-high 26 he scored in 2007-08 with Nashville and helped him match the personal best of 58 points, which he recorded for the Predators in that same season.
OVERTIME
1. Stars G Ben Bishop is scheduled to get the start Monday while G Kari Lehtonen is expected to be in net the following night in Nashville.
2. Ottawa RW Marian Gaborik, who has recorded a goal and an assist in seven contests since being acquired from Los Angeles, has missed the last two games with an undisclosed injury and is day-to-day.
3. Dallas C Gemel Smith was a healthy scratch for the team's last two games but is likely to be in the lineup on Monday.