Stars at Ducks
The St. Louis Blues and Columbus Blue Jackets are locked in a battle for playoff spots in the Western Conference. On Friday, the Blues host the Central Division-rival Blue Jackets, who trail St. Louis by one point for eighth place in the Western Conference. Columbus has won its last three games and Sergei Bobrovsky has allowed one goal in each of his last two starts. He earned his third shutout in a 4-0 victory at Dallas on Monday and stopped 23 shots at home in a 5-2 win on Wednesday as the Ducks snapped a three-game home losing streak fand improved to 14-4-0 at Honda Center.
The Stars have surrendered 22 goals while winning just one of their last five games. Kari Lehtonen started all four of Dallas' previous games against the Ducks but has looked shaky since recording a 40-save shutout versus Los Angeles on March 21. Lehtonen has allowed at least three goals in each of his last five starts. Owners of the third-worst record in the Western Conference, the Stars were sellers leading up to the trade deadline, dealing two of their top four scorers (Jaromir Jagr and Derek Roy) along with former captain Brenden Morrow and Tomas Vincour.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, FSN Plus Southwest (Dallas), FSN West (Anaheim)
ABOUT THE STARS (16-17-3): Dallas, which is likely to miss the playoffs for a fifth straight time, received a total of five prospects and two draft picks as it stocks up for a rebuilding phase. Jagr led the team with eight goals and 12 points in March. Ray Whitney has 10 points in 12 contests since returning from injury but has been limited to one goal in three meetings with Anaheim. Erik Cole scored in Wednesday’s loss, giving him four goals in 16 games since joining the Stars in a midseason trade with Montreal. Loui Eriksson has been held off the scoresheet in his last four games - his longest drought of the season.
ABOUT THE DUCKS (25-7-5): Captain Ryan Getzlaf did not practice with the team after suffering a lower-body injury in Wednesday’s victory but is expected to play on Friday. Matt Beleskey, who has two points in the last two games against Dallas, is day-to-day after getting hit with a high stick in the third period on Wednesday. Anaheim acquired Matthew Lombardi from Phoenix in exchange for Brandon McMillan at the trade deadline, bolstering its depth at forward. Lombardi had eight points in 21 games with the Coyotes. The Ducks have a comfortable lead in the Pacific Division, which they have not won since 2006-07 - their Stanley Cup-winning season.
OVERTIME
1. Getzlaf has collected five points in the last two games against Dallas.
2. Hiller started the first two games against Dallas but is 5-9-1 lifetime versus the Stars..
3. The Stars play seven of their final 12 games on the road, where they are 8-8-1.
PREDICTION: Ducks 5, Stars 2