Coming On Strong
Dallas,Tex – The last time the Dallas Stars took the ice, they turned in their best offensive performance in over 16 years. In fact, they scored as many goals in one game as the Nashville Predators have allowed since the All-Star break.
The Stars seek their seventh win in eight games Sunday night when they continue their four-game homestand against a Predators team that has tightened up defensively of late.
Oddsmakers from Online Sportsbook Sportsbook.com have made the Stars –175 money line favorites for Thursday’s game against the Predators. Current NHL Public Betting Information shows that 58% of more than 183 bets for this game have been placed on the Stars -175.
Dallas (25-19-7) held a 20-7 scoring advantage during a season-high five-game winning streak that began just before the All-Star break.
That run ended Thursday night with a 3-2 loss at Colorado, but the Stars rebounded by scoring six times on nine shots in the third period to complete a 10-2 rout of the visiting New York Rangers on Friday night.
It was the first double-digit goal-scoring game for the Stars franchise since a 10-3 win over on Nov. 28, 1992, when they were the Minnesota North Stars.
Jere Lehtinen, Steve Ott and rookie Fabian Brunnstrom – returning from an 11-game absence with a lower-body injury – each had a goal and two assists, and five other Dallas players had multi-point games.
"It’s good to see when you have a bad game that you can bounce back," said Mike Ribeiro, who had two goals and two assists. "It’s good for everyone’s confidence."
Dallas enters this contest sixth in the Western Conference with 57 points, two behind fifth-place Anaheim. Meanwhile, Nashville (25-24-3) has won four straight but is only one of a cluster of teams jockeying for the final two playoff spots.
The Predators have surrendered just four total goals while winning their four February contests, and 10 goals while winning five of six since the break.
Friday’s 2-0 victory at Minnesota – their sixth shutout – put them in position for their longest winning streak since reeling off six straight from Jan. 5-15, 2007.
Nashville’s current run has been boosted by its outstanding penalty killing. It turned aside four Minnesota power plays Friday, and has allowed teams to convert just six times in 86 opportunities over the past 24 games – a 93.0 penalty kill rate.
"As long as we can hold the fort in terms of keeping their power play off the board, I think that gives us a good chance to win," Predators coach Barry Trotz said.
Dallas figures to challenge Nashville’s penalty kill. The Stars scored a season-high four times with the man advantage Friday, and are 14-for-52 (26.9 percent) on the power play in their last 11 games.
The Predators’ Dan Ellis made 22 saves Friday – his first appearance since Jan. 17 – for his ninth career shutout. No. 1 netminder Pekka Rinne had compiled a 2.02 goals-against average in starting Nashville’s previous six games, winning four of them.
Ellis also registered a shutout in a 3-0 home win over the Stars – with whom he played one game in 2003-04 – on Dec. 13, and is 4-2-0 with a 1.95 GAA in six career games against his former team. Rinne has never faced Dallas.
The home team has won all three meetings in this season series, with two of those games taking place in Nashville. The Predators have lost eight of their last 10 visits to Dallas, where the Stars are 10-1-1 since Dec. 12.
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Posted: 2/8/09 1:35AM ET
