Stars at Coyotes
Getting away from home may be a good thing for the skidding Dallas Stars, who attempt to halt a seven-game winless drought (0-5-2) when they visit the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday. The Stars suffered their fourth straight regulation loss in galling fashion, coughing up a two-goal lead in the third period to fall to San Jose on Saturday to conclude an 0-3-0 homestand. "It's beyond frustrating," Stars center Jason Spezza said. "We should be good at home. We've got to go on the road and get some wins now."
Arizona followed a three-game skid with a three-game winning streak, which came to an end in a 1-0 home loss to the New York Islanders on Saturday - the third time the team has been blanked in nine contests. Coming off a shootout win in Anaheim the night before, the Coyotes managed only 19 shots and stayed in it behind Mike Smith's 32-save effort. "We're still making strides forward and certainly strides forward in Mike Smith's game," coach Dave Tippett said. "We're playing better as a group and hopefully we can take those positives and continue on."
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FSN Southwest Plus (Dallas), FSN Arizona
ABOUT THE STARS (4-6-4): Dallas got a reprieve Monday when forward Antoine Roussel escaped suspension and was instead fined by the league for sucker-punching San Jose defenseman Justin Braun. "Obviously, you don’t want to hurt anybody," Roussel said after Monday's practice. "I thought it was a fair fight for a second, and then I saw that he was tied up. That is when it got broken up.” Tyler Seguin registered a hat trick against the Sharks to boost his team-high totals to 10 goals and 19 points, but the Stars need more production from captain Jamie Benn, who has three assists in seven contests following a five-game goal-scoring streak.
ABOUT THE COYOTES (6-7-1): Arizona succeeded in halting a streak of at least one power-play goal allowed in six consecutive games by thwarting all three chances by New York, but now must address its own struggles with the man advantage. The Coyotes failed on all five power-play opportunities Saturday and are 0-for-12 during a season-high three-game drought. "We're creating chances," center Sam Gagner said after Saturday's contest. "I think that pucks aren't going to go in all the time on the power play. But the main thing is getting pucks to the net and creating those chances."
OVERTIME
1. Spezza has seven goals and 10 points in seven games against the Coyotes.
2. Tippett will coach his 391st game with Arizona on Tuesday, surpassing Bob Francis for the most in franchise history.
3. Dallas called up D John Klingberg, who has four goals and 12 points in 10 games with the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League.