Coyotes at Stars
THE STORY: The Dallas Stars have already followed one path of the Phoenix Coyotes. They hope to avoid following another when they host the Coyotes in a Pacific Division showdown Tuesday night. Phoenix surged to the top of the division with an 11-0-1 stretch and promptly lost five straight. Dallas supplanted the Coyotes on the heels of a 10-0-1 run, only to absorb back-to-back lopsided losses and drop back into a tie with Phoenix atop the division.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBCS, TSN2
ABOUT THE COYOTES (36-26-11): Phoenix was 2 1/2 minutes from tumbling into a tie for 10th in the Western Conference when Raffi Torres scored the tying goal in an eventual 3-2 shootout win at Edmonton on Sunday. Torres has scored four goals in the last seven games – each one coming in the third period. "He finds those opportunities," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said. "He made a great shot. It was a huge goal for us.” It was only the Coyotes' third win in 10 games (3-5-2).
ABOUT THE STARS (39-28-5): After running its winning streak to six games with back-to-back shutouts, Dallas was pounded at Winnipeg 5-2 and drubbed at home by Chicago 4-1. The Stars fell behind quickly in both games and didn't have a power-play opportunity in either contest. All-Star Jamie Benn scored his 22nd goal in the loss to the Blackhawks to match his career high. He has scored 22 goals in each of his first three seasons. Loui Eriksson has seven goals and eight assists in the last 12 games.
OVERTIME:
1. Tippett won his 400th career game Sunday. That's the second-highest total in the league to Detroit's Mike Babcock (415) since he was named head coach with Dallas prior to the 2002-03 season.
2. The Coyotes have beaten Dallas three straight and have won 14 of the last 20 meetings.
3. The loss to Chicago was Stars G Kari Lehtonen's first regulation defeat in 10 games (8-1-1).