Predators at Stars
Coming off a season in which they led the Western Conference in points, the Dallas Stars have been among the league's biggest disappointments as they prepare to host the Nashville Predators on Thursday. The Stars are coming off a 2-1 home loss to Calgary, denying them a chance to win back-to-back games for only the second time this season.
"It's kind of tiring to win one here and lose one," Dallas forward Curtis McKenzie said. "It's not the type of hockey you want to be playing." The Stars have split a pair of meetings against the Predators -- both in Nashville -- this season, winning 2-1 on Oct. 18 and falling 5-2 on Nov. 23. The Predators avoided a winless three-game homestand (1-1-1) with a 4-3 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday to improve to 10-4-3 in their last 17 games. Nashville has struggled away from home, however, with only three wins in 12 games (3-7-2).
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, FSN Tennessee (Nashville), FSN Southwest (Dallas)
ABOUT THE PREDATORS (12-9-4): James Neal was on a goal-scoring binge for Nashville, registering nine goals in a 10-game span before an upper-body injury sidelined him for four games. Neal returned to the lineup Tuesday and showed the absence didn't cool him off, scoring his team-high 11th goal. "He doesn't need a lot of room and he doesn't need a lot of space and that's a perfect example of it," coach Peter Laviolette said. "What was really good about having James back there is it just provided the good balance in our lines."
ABOUT THE STARS (10-11-6): Defenseman Julius Honka, Dallas' first-round draft pick (No. 14 overall) in 2014, had to leave Tuesday's game due to an upper-body injury and is expected to sit out the next two contests. Another first-round pick, forward Jason Dickinson, was called up from the minors and will make his season debut -- he scored in his first and only NHL game last season. "He's a big man that skates well," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. "He's a guy that I think we can put in and he can add to the speed of our lineup."
OVERTIME
1. Stars C Jason Spezza is in a 12-goal goal-scoring drought, but he has 11 tallies and 21 points in 20 games versus Nashville.
2. Predators F Viktor Arvidsson scored his eight goal Tuesday, matching his career high established in 56 games last season.
3. Dallas has outscored Nashville 33-15 in winning seven of the last eight matchups at home.