Stars at Blue Jackets
THE STORY: The Columbus Blue Jackets will seek their first three-game winning streak of the season when they host the Dallas Stars on Thursday. Columbus has followed a six-game skid with two straight victories, marking just the second time they have accomplished the feat this campaign. The Stars have struggled of late, losing seven of their last 10 games and three of four on the road. Dallas has won four of the last six meetings between the teams.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Southwest (Dallas), FSN Ohio (Columbus)
ABOUT THE STARS (27-23-2): Coach Glen Gulutzan has been juggling the team's lines since captain Brenden Morrow went down with an upper-body injury. Eric Nystrom moved up to the second line from the third, and Adam Burish also moved up a line from the fourth. Michael Ryder scored his team-leading 19th goal in Tuesday's loss to Phoenix. However, it was just his second tally in his last 14 contests.
ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (15-32-6): Despite the club's struggles this season, Vinny Prospal apparently is enjoying his time in Columbus as he signed a one-year contract extension on Wednesday. Prospal, who has recorded nine goals and 24 assists over 53 games in his first season with the Blue Jackets, hinted that one of the reasons he wanted to remain in Ohio's capital city was keeping his family rooted in the community. "I’m very happy for myself and for my family that we don’t have to move anywhere," the 36-year-old said. "Sure, it’s tough at times with the way our season has been going, but I believe we’re going to do just fine next year."
OVERTIME:
1. The Blue Jackets are last in the league in penalty killing with a 75.7 percent success rate.
2. Columbus has had a franchise-record 29 different players score a goal this season. The previous mark of 28 players was set in 2003-04 and matched last campaign.
3. Both teams have had trouble scoring of late. Dallas has recorded two goals or less in nine of its last 10 games while Columbus has notched three tallies or fewer in eight straight contests.