Panthers at Stars
The Dallas Stars have gone from contending for a Central Division title to fighting for their playoff lives with a six-game losing streak and look to begin changing course Thursday night against the visiting Florida Panthers. The Stars fell to 0-4-2 during their streak with Tuesday’s 4-2 home loss to the New York Rangers and scored just three goals in the past four games.
“I believe in these guys,” Dallas interim coach Rick Bowness told reporters after Tuesday’s setback. “They’re pros. We’ve had a lot of great games. This is the first real adversity we’ve faced in terms of home play since I’ve taken over, and we’re gonna fix it together.” The Stars, who entered Wednesday four points clear of a wild-card spot in the Western Conference, hope to avenge a 7-4 loss at Florida on Dec. 20 and may have to do it without talented right wing Alexander Radulov, who missed Tuesday’s game because of illness. The Panthers appear to be heading in the opposite direction with points in three straight games (2-0-1) after a 2-1 win at St. Louis on Monday and stood three points out of playoff position in the Eastern Conference. “It’s the best time of the year,” Florida right wing Brett Connolly told reporters. “There’s lots of pressure now. You work so hard to get yourself in a position in the postseason. This is the time where guys are giving a little extra. … We’ve just got to keep building. We’re right there. Block out all the noise outside.”
TIME: 8:30 p.m. ET. TV: FS Florida, FS Southwest, Sportsnet 360
ABOUT THE PANTHERS (35-26-8): Number-one goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (lower body) has begun practicing, but is not expected back Thursday while backup Chris Driedger (7-2-1) has allowed only four goals in the last three contests. “He’s earning his starts,” Connolly told reporters of Driedger. “Obviously when Bob goes down, we need someone to step up, and he’s done that. We have two very, very good goalies that can help us down the stretch.” Left wing Mike Hoffman scored his team-leading 29th goal Monday and boasts eight in his past 11 contests while captain Aleksander Barkov (62 points) has been kept off the scoresheet in six straight games.
ABOUT THE STARS (37-24-8): Center Roope Hintz recorded his 19th goal in Tuesday’s defeat and is one behind 22-year-old right wing Denis Gurianov, who entered Wednesday tied for second among all rookies in the league with 20. Leading scorer Tyler Seguin (50 points) has been left off the scoresheet in four straight games and captain Jamie Benn (39) is pointless in his past three while defenseman Miro Heiskanen (35) had two assists against the Rangers. Former Vezina finalist Ben Bishop (21-16-4, .920 save percentage) took his fourth straight loss Tuesday and backup Anton Khudobin (16-8-4, .930) has suffered three straight defeats (0-1-2).
OVERTIME
1. Florida LW Jonathan Huberdeau leads the team with 78 points, but has managed one in his past six games.
2. Dallas F Andrew Cogliano scored for the first time in 35 games Tuesday and is one point from 400 for his career.
3. The Panthers are 1-of-15 with the man advantage the last six games while Dallas killed only 11-of-18 power plays in the same span.