Stars at Predators
The Nashville Predators look to reverse their struggles at Bridgestone Arena when they wrap up a three-game homestand against the Dallas Stars on Saturday night. The Predators were dominant in Nashville for much of the season but have dropped nine of their last 11 at home (2-5-2), including back-to-back losses this week to stall their pursuit of the Central Division title.
While Nashville is tied with St. Louis in points atop the division and Chicago is sitting one behind, Dallas' postseason hopes were all but snuffed out in Friday's 7-5 home loss to the Blues. The Stars were shredded for 12 goals in must-win home games against Calgary and St. Louis and are six points behind Los Angeles for the second wild card in the Western Conference with four games to play. Aside from its inability to contain opposing offenses, two glaring issues have tormented Dallas - a dismal record at home (16-16-8) and within the division (6-14-7).
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSN Southwest Plus (Dallas), FSN Tennessee (Nashville)
ABOUT THE STARS (37-31-10): Captain Jamie Benn scored twice and set up another tally Friday to give him seven goals and six assists over the past eight games to leave him two points shy of his career high (77) set last season. Tyler Seguin has scored in three straight games to leave him within one goal of matching his career-best 37 from last season despite missing 10 games. Conversely, goaltender Kari Lehtonen has posted a career high-tying 34 wins despite surrendering a league-worst 181 goals - including at least three in each of his last six starts.
ABOUT THE PREDATORS (47-22-9): After giving up nine goals in back-to-back losses to Calgary and Vancouver, Nashville could be getting some much-needed reinforcements with the expected return of captain and stud defenseman Shea Weber, who has missed three straight games due to a lower-body injury. Forward James Neal, sidelined for nine games, practiced fully for the second straight day along with Matt Cullen, who has sat out five games in a row. Neal has scored 22 goals in 63 games and is one behind rookie Filip Forsberg and Craig Smith for the team lead.
OVERTIME
1. Predators G Pekka Rinne is 10-5-1 with three shutouts against Dallas.
2. Dallas has lost all three meetings versus the Predators this season and four straight visits to Nashville.
3. Weber, who is mired in a 12-game goalless drought, has tallied three times in the three wins over the Stars this season.