Maple Leafs at Stars
The best team in the Western Conference will square off with the worst team in the East when the red-hot Dallas Stars host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night. The high-flying Stars have won three straight contests and six of their last seven as they prepare to kick off a three-game homestand, but their only loss in that span was a 4-1 setback in Toronto.
While Dallas is off to the best 15-game start in franchise history behind a potent offense, coach Lindy Ruff is pleased with his team's play at the other end of the ice. "We keep getting better and we've been working on the defensive side of it and for me that's the most important side," Ruff said. "In the last couple of games, I've liked we're were at." The Maple Leafs have dropped three in a row since their victory over the Stars, which accounted for their only win in the past 10 games (1-6-3). Toronto has scored 29 goals in 14 games - and 10 of those came in victories over Columbus and Dallas.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, RSNO (Toronto), FSN Southwest-Plus (Dallas)
ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (2-8-4): With goaltender Jonathan Bernier still day-to-day with a lower-body injury, James Reimer will make his fifth consecutive start - a stretch that began with a 43-save effort in the 4-1 victory over the Stars. Maple Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf is second on the team in scoring behind fellow blue-liner Morgan Rielly, but he did not practice Monday while dealing with the flu. Forward Joffrey Lupul scored a pair of goals in last week's win versus the Stars and needs one more tally to reach 200 for his career.
ABOUT THE STARS (12-3-0): Tyler Seguin, who is riding an eight-game point streak, was named the NHL's Second Star of the Week on Monday after notching four goals and three assists in four games to tie Chicago's Patrick Kane for the league lead with 23 points. After managing only three assists in his first eight games with Dallas, forward Patrick Sharp has rediscovered his scoring touch with six goals and three assists in the last seven contests. Antti Niemi has not played since giving up four goals to Toronto while Kari Lehtonen is 3-8-2 lifetime versus the Maple Leafs.
OVERTIME
1. Seguin has 10 goals and 19 points in 21 games against the Maple Leafs.
2. Lupul has 10 goals and 20 points in 25 games versus Dallas.
3. Stars D John Klingberg has 15 points to lead all NHL blue-liners.