Avalanche at Stars
The Dallas Stars have a chance to wrap up the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and the Central Division title when they host the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night. Dallas, which is tied with St. Louis atop the division, will clinch with a victory over the Avalanche and a regulation loss by the Blues at Chicago on Thursday.
The Stars own the tiebreaker and can take St. Louis out of the equation by simply winning the final two games - both at home - against Colorado and Nashville, which is locked into the No. 7 seed and has nothing for which to play. “I like where our team is at,” Dallas coach Lindy Ruff said. "We've got two left and we want to win them both." The Stars had a four-game winning streak halted with a 3-1 loss at Anaheim on Sunday, only their second defeat in nine games (7-2-0). The Avalanche were eliminated from postseason contention after falling to Nashville 4-3 on Tuesday for their fourth loss in a row and sixth in seven games.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, Altitude (Colorado), FSN Southwest-Plus (Dallas)
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (39-37-4): Colorado could not overcome injuries to its top two scorers and staggered down the stretch while failing to make the postseason for the second straight year following its surprising run to the Central Division title in 2013-14. "Today I am very disappointed,” coach Patrick Roy told NHL.com. “I'm sure we're going to have plenty of time to talk about it, but I mean it's not what we expect from this team. We expect more from this team." Defenseman Nikita Zadorov is expected back in the lineup after missing two games with a head injury.
ABOUT THE STARS (48-23-9): While Dallas is dealing with a slew of injuries, there is reason for optimism as Kris Russell is expected back in the lineup following a seven-game absence and fellow defenseman Jason Demers is closer to returning after missing the past 12 contests. Patrick Eaves will not play Thursday due to a mid-body injury, Ruff said, while fellow forwards Mattias Janmark and Brett Ritchie also sat out Wednesday's practice. Curtis McKenzie was recalled from Texas of the American Hockey League and is expected to be in the lineup.
OVERTIME
1. The Stars ended an eight-game losing streak in the series with a 4-3 overtime win at Colorado on Feb. 4.
2. The Avalanche are 2-for-24 on the power play over the past 10 games.
3. Ruff said Wednesday that it's too early to tell if F Tyler Seguin (Achilles) will be ready for the playoff opener.