Canadiens at Stars
The Montreal Canadiens are mired in their first slump of the season and now enter the most challenging portion of their schedule when they open an eight-game road trip at the Western Conference-leading Dallas Stars on Saturday night. The Canadiens, who opened the season with nine straight wins, have dropped two in a row and six of their last seven.
Although Montreal has scored only 11 goals during its 1-6-0 swoon, captain Max Pacioretty thinks the lengthy trek might be beneficial for his team. "Sometimes it works that way, where you get away from home, spend some time with the guys and you feel a bit better about your game," Pacioretty said. "So maybe it's a good time for that. I hope so and I hope we show up against Dallas." The Stars are off to the best start in franchise history, but they have dropped two of three and will face four tough tests against Central Division powers following the matchup against the Canadiens. "We're in a place that a lot of guys haven't been before, and we've got to handle it better," Dallas coach Lindy Ruff said.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NHL Network, City (Montreal), FSN Southwest (Dallas)
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (20-10-3): While not satisfied with the results, Montreal coach Michel Therrien is not faulting the effort of his club, which outshot San Jose and Los Angeles by a combined 72-38 in the last two defeats. “During this tough stretch, we’ve faced adversity and the wins have been hard to come by. Looking back, though, I think we dominated the majority of these games. This stretch will make us a stronger team in the long run. That’s why there isn’t any panic." The power play is cause for some teeth-gnashing after failing to convert on 21 chances in the past seven games.
ABOUT THE STARS (23-7-2): Dallas still leads the league in scoring but, like Montreal, is having its struggles with the man advantage despite owning the league's fourth-ranked power play (21.6 percent). The Stars are in an 0-for-16 rut over the past four games and have only two goals in their last 30 chances with the extra skate. "We're not making quick enough decisions, and almost every decision we do make is the wrong one right now," Ruff said. "The execution part of it, we got in a couple of times and then we didn't make the right play. We'll come out of it. It's going to take some hard work."
OVERTIME
1. Stars C Jason Spezza has only one assist in six games but has 29 goals and 63 assists in 56 games versus Montreal.
2. The Canadiens have won three of the past four meetings with Dallas over the past two seasons.
3. Stars backup G Antti Niemi is 3-2-0 with two shutouts in five starts versus the Canadiens.