Stars at Ducks
The Dallas Stars are closing in on the Central Division title and top overall seed in the Western Conference by using a strong finishing kick against a flurry of playoff opponents. Winners of four in a row and seven of its last eight, Dallas looks to complete an impressive back-to-back when it visits the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday.
The Stars did the Ducks a favor by rallying for a 3-2 victory over Pacific Division-leading Los Angeles on Saturday, giving Anaheim a chance to leapfrog the Kings into first place with a victory on Sunday. With three games remaining, Dallas owns a four-point lead over second-place St. Louis, which has a game in hand. Anaheim, which has played seven in a row against teams eliminated from playoff contention, squandered a great opportunity to overtake Los Angeles with a 3-2 home loss to Vancouver on Friday. “We haven’t played a 60-minute game in a while,” coach Bruce Boudreau said. “We’ll either be an eye-opener (Sunday) or we’ll rise to the occasion."
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FSN Southwest (Dallas), Prime Ticket, FSN San Diego (Anaheim)
ABOUT THE STARS (48-22-9): Captain and reigning Art Ross Trophy winner Jamie Benn has tallied five times during a four-goal scoring streak to boost his season total to 41 while establishing a career high with 88 points - one more than his total from last season. Mattias Janmark, a 15-goal scorer in his rookie campaign, sustained an upper-body injury in Saturday's game and will be "out for a little bit," according to coach Lindy Ruff. Dallas has killed off 22-of-23 short-handed situations over its last seven games.
ABOUT THE DUCKS (43-24-10): Already missing David Perron and defensemen Kevin Bieksa and Simon Despres due to injuries, Anaheim on Friday announced that Rickard Rakell (appendix) and goaltender Frederik Andersen (concussion) were on the shelf. The hits kept coming as Brandon Pirri suffered an upper-body injury that prevented him from practicing Saturday, although blue-liner Hampus Lindholm practiced after missing Friday's game with the flu. Jakob Silfverberg has scored half of his 18 goals in the last 10 games.
OVERTIME
1. Ducks G John Gibson allowed one goal in winning his first career star versus Dallas.
2. Ruff became the fifth coach in history to record 700 victories with Saturday's win.
3. The Ducks and Stars have split a pair of meetings this season, with the home team prevailing in each.