Stars at Senators
The Dallas Stars begin a three-game Eastern Conference road trip with a visit to the Ottawa Senators on Sunday afternoon. The Stars are 2-5-0 on the road, while Ottawa has just one victory in five home games. The Senators are mired in a four-game winless streak and have allowed 15 goals over their last three contests while yielding a league-worst 38.5 shots per game on the season.
Dallas' Kari Lehtonen has allowed three goals in two of his last three starts and is 2-1-2 since returning from a minor injury. The Stars need Lehtonen to play well while they try to fix their offense, which has produced just 33 goals - the second-lowest total in the West. Dallas played two games against the East earlier in the week, defeating Buffalo on Monday before falling to Montreal a night later.
TV: 1 p.m. ET, FSN Southwest (Dallas), RSN East, TVA (Ottawa)
ABOUT THE STARS (5-6-2): Tyler Seguin leads the team with six goals and 14 points and has found chemistry with captain Jamie Benn, who is second with 13 points and has a team-leading nine assists. Veteran Ray Whitney has yet to score a goal but has six assists and rookie Alex Chiasson, who has five goals and four assists, credits Whitney for helping with his hot start. Veteran defenseman Sergei Gonchar, signed for two seasons at $5 million per, has one assist and is minus-5 after recording 27 points last season with Ottawa.
ABOUT THE SENATORS (4-6-3): Defenseman Erik Karlsson has collected five points during his three-game streak and leads the team with 13. Captain Jason Spezza and Bobby Ryan are tied for the team lead with seven goals, while Clarke MacArthur scored his first with Ottawa on Friday after recording seven assists in October. Craig Anderson is 4-4-2 with a 3.16 goals-against average and .911 save percentage.
OVERTIME
1. Dallas’ power play is 0-for-18 at home but has six goals on 25 road opportunities.
2. Senators F Erik Condra is day-to-day with a leg injury.
3. The Stars have won the last three meetings between the teams. Ottawa’s last victory over Dallas came in overtime on Dec. 20, 2008.