The Dallas Stars will look to continue their road-warrior ways when they complete a quick two-game trip with a stop in Calgary to face the Flames on Thursday.
The Stars, who sit second in the Central Division, are coming off an impressive 2-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday, which has them boasting an 8-1-1 mark outside of Dallas.
It’s the best road record through the first 10 games of a season for the franchise. However, the Stars have a pedestrian 5-4-1 home record.
“It’s definitely strange,” Dallas forward Tyler Seguin said. “You don’t want that, but you’ll take it in that your road record is great and your home record needs work. It’s usually harder to get those road wins, so it means we’re playing good hockey and it’s something we’ll think about when we get back.”
With a Stars team that constantly appears to have somebody on a roll, that honor currently belongs to veteran Joe Pavelski. He scored the winning goal in Winnipeg and has eight points (five goals, three assists) during a seven-game point streak.
The Stars arrive in Calgary also looking to make amends for their previous meeting with the Flames. Last Friday, Dallas blew a two-goal lead and surrendered five unanswered goals in a 7-4 home loss. The Winnipeg outing was a performance more akin to expectations.
“That last game left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth,” Stars coach Peter DeBoer said of the collapse against the Flames. “We talked (and said), ‘This league’s all about your response. Everyone’s going to stumble at different points, and how are you going to respond to that?’ I liked our response (in Winnipeg).”
The Flames have won two of their past three outings and are on a 7-3-2 run. Calgary kicked off a six-game homestand with a 2-1 overtime victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday, the fourth time this season the Flames have won when trailing after two periods.
This is the fourth of five consecutive games against top-tier clubs for Calgary.
“When you play the teams perceived to be the top teams, there’s an element of fear when you’re against them,” Flames coach Ryan Huska said. “If we’re not at our best, we might not come out on the right side or it might not be a pretty game. I think the better teams in the league bring the best out of you and that’s what we’re seeing right now.”
The Flames expect No. 1 goaltender Jacob Markstrom back in the net after he missed the last game due to illness, with the symptoms coming on just as he arrived at the arena.
“I felt good today,” Markstrom said after a full practice on Wednesday. “It was bad timing. It was a tough 12 hours.”
The Flames are also feeling fortunate after veteran defenseman Chris Tanev appeared to have avoided a major injury. He blocked a shot that hit him in the face late in the Golden Knights clash, but he only needed stitches.
“I’m very fortunate with this one. We were quite worried when it happened,” said Tanev, who is known for his fearlessness. “Thankfully, I just got cut.
” … Probably not the smartest play to do that. But, I mean, it’s the only way that I was going to get in front of the puck.”
–Field Level Media
