Ducks at Stars
The Dallas Stars try for their second victory in 13 days over Anaheim when they complete a three-game homestand Thursday against the Ducks. Anaheim is making its second and final trip of the season to Dallas after a 5-3 setback on Oct. 13 - its fifth straight loss at American Airlines Center - as the Stars' Jamie Benn and Alexander Radulov each recorded a goal and an assist while Tyler Seguin added two assists.
Dallas snapped a three-game losing streak with a 4-2 victory over Los Angeles on Tuesday while playing with 11 forwards and seven defenseman. Tyler Pitlick joined Benn and Seguin on the top line in place of the injured Radulov and recorded his first power-play goal in 146 career games. "I enjoyed the 11 forwards tonight," coach Jim Montgomery told reporters. "I felt I could get everybody involved in the game and everybody was into the game." The Ducks have lost three straight after Tuesday's 3-1 setback at Chicago, yielding four goals in 13 short-handed situations and going 0-for-8 on the power play during the slide.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, Prime Ticket (Anaheim), FS Southwest (Dallas)
ABOUT THE DUCKS (5-4-1): Rickard Rakell (67 goals over the last two seasons) scored Tuesday for the first time since opening night and is two shy of 100 for his career. Nick Ritchie made his season debut against Chicago after holding out for a three-year contract worth a reported $1.533 million annually, and recorded three shots and two hits in 14 minutes, 49 seconds of ice time. John Gibson (4-3-1, 1.93 goals-against average, .949 save percentage) has been peppered with an NHL-most 294 shots.
ABOUT THE STARS (4-4-0): Radulov (four goals, 10 points in six games) and Valeri Nichushkin are questionable to play after missing the last two and three contests, respectively, with lower-body injuries. Seguin boasts club bests of eight assists and 11 points while Jason Spezza, who is three games shy of 1,000, has two goals and three assists in his last five games, and 895 points for his career. Ben Bishop (3-3-0, 2.38, .924), who is 7-1-2, 1.32, .949 in 10 games (nine starts) versus Anaheim, is expected to make his third straight start.
OVERTIME
1. Dallas D John Klingberg leads the club in goals (five) and ice time (25:45).
2. Anaheim averages an NHL-fewest 23.9 shots per game while allowing a league-most 37.9.
3. Benn hasn't recorded a point in the last four games after totaling four goals and four assists in his first four contests this season.