The Dallas Stars bring their team-record 10-game winning streak back home Friday as their six-game homestand begins with the Colorado Avalanche, the only team above them in the NHL standings.
It’s the first time the Central Division squads have met since the opening week of the season, when the Stars skated out of Denver with a 5-4 shootout win.
Considering Colorado has owned the NHL’s best record virtually the entire season, Friday’s game serves as a crucial checkpoint for the Stars – especially considering these teams could meet in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
“You know, I am paying attention to this (trade) deadline, just like everybody else, but geez, I’ve been paying attention to this game versus Colorado since last time we played Colorado,” Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said Thursday. “So, that’s kind of where my focus is.”
Dallas has continued its winning streak despite being down a couple of key players since play resumed after the Olympic break. The Stars should get one back Friday as Gulutzan said Roope Hintz “should be good to go.” The Finnish forward missed the last four games due to illness.
The Stars may have more lineup juggling to do as they acquired Tyler Myers from Vancouver on Wednesday. Gulutzan considers Myers a “50-50” shot to play Friday as the 6-foot-8 defenseman was not expected to report to the team until late Thursday.
Even without Hintz (15 goals, 29 assists in 52 games) and Mikko Rantanen (20 goals, 49 assists in 54 games), the Stars have been shining brightly of late. Their last two games, a back-to-back road trip to Vancouver and Calgary, both ended in 6-1 scores.
Jason Robertson, who leads the team with 34 goals and 72 points, has notched two points in each of his last three games (2G, 4A). Wyatt Johnston, second on the team with 33 goals and third with 65 points, has three 2-point games (4G, 2A) in his last four.
The Avalanche know the high the Stars are riding — and then some. Two months ago, Colorado became the fourth NHL team to have two 10-game winning streaks in the same season. The team is in the early stages of a third such stretch as it has won three in a row. The Avalanche went to Southern California earlier this week and beat Los Angeles 4-2 on Monday and blitzed Anaheim 5-1 the next night.
Not only does Colorado have the league’s best record, it boasts the league’s best offense at 3.82 goals per game and best defense at 2.40 goals per game. Nathan MacKinnon, who leads the league with 41 goals and ranks second with 100 points, has registered seven points (1G, 6A) since play resumed a week ago. Martin Necas, tied for eighth in the league with Robertson and three others with 72 points, has five goals and five helpers in five games since the break ended.
The California trip ended a three-game, four-day stretch for Colorado, but Friday’s game against the Stars begins a five-game gauntlet through March 14. After going to Dallas, the Avalanche returns home for two games against Minnesota and Edmonton before embarking on the road again.
After the win against Los Angeles, Colorado coach Jared Bednar said the team would stay in California for one more day before heading east. Aside from a pregame skate on Friday, Bednar said only goalies and some injured players may get on the ice for any extended time.
“We’re going to try and be as energized and ready to go as we can be for Dallas,” Bednar said. “That’s our focus.”
