The Northwest Division-leading Vancouver Canucks wrap up their five-game road trip Thursday as they visit the Dallas Stars. Vancouver, which has a four-point lead over the Minnesota Wild with five contests remaining, is 2-1-1 on its trek after falling to the St. Louis Blues 2-1 in a shootout on Tuesday. The Canucks are seeking their fifth consecutive division title and also hope to steal second place in the Western Conference from the Anaheim Ducks, who are ahead by five points with five games remaining.
Dallas is coming off a 5-2 loss to the league-leading Blackhawks in Chicago on Monday that ended its five-game winning streak. The Stars, who have missed the playoffs each of the last four seasons, are four points behind the eighth-place Columbus Blue Jackets but have two games in hand. Kari Lehtonen is expected to start in goal for Dallas after missing three games with a groin injury.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, Rogers Sportsnet Pacific (Vancouver), FSN Southwest (Dallas)
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (24-12-7): After Kevin Bieksa missed Tuesday's game with a groin injury, Vancouver recalled fellow defenseman Derek Joslin from Worcester of the American Hockey League. Joslin spent last season with Carolina, recording two goals and two assists in 44 games. When the season began, Markus Naslund was Vancouver's all-time leading scorer with 756 points. After Tuesday's game, he was tied for second with Daniel Sedin, who pulled even with an assist on defenseman Alex Edler's goal. Captain Henrik Sedin, who also helped set up Edler's tally, is the club's scoring leader with 789 points.
ABOUT THE STARS (21-18-3): Lehtonen made 19 consecutive starts before being injured on April 9 against Los Angeles. He is looking forward to getting back in the crease and attempt to help Dallas in its quest for the playoffs. "Hopefully, it was good to get a little time off," Lehtonen said. "We have a few games left and I am even more excited now to play." While rookie forward Alex Chiasson will miss Thursday's game with a shoulder injury, coach Glen Gulutzan believes defenseman Trevor Daley might return from his upper-body injury. "He's had two days off," Gulutzan said. "He'd be a day-to-day guy, but there is a good chance he's going to go."
OVERTIME
1. The clubs split the first two meetings this season, with each posting a 4-3 road victory.
2. Vancouver has captured five of its last six visits to Dallas and 12 of 16 overall against the Stars.
3. The road team has won four of the last five games in the all-time series.
PREDICTION: Canucks 3, Stars 2