Game Preview: Oettinger In Net, Faksa Doubtful As Stars Host Jets On Friday Night

The Stars continue their eight-game Central Division swing with a matchup against the Winnipeg Jets at American Airlines Center on Friday night.

Dallas is coming off of an impressive 4-3 victory over the Predators on Wednesday night and has won six of their last eight games overall. They remain on the outside of the playoff picture but believe they have a great opportunity to gain ground in the standings.

“It wasn’t pretty but we knew we had to find a way to win,” Ryan Suter said. “They aren’t all going to be pretty games and you just have to recognize that and learn to play whatever the game brings you. Preparation-wise, you want to prepare like it’s a playoff mentality game. Check tight, and by doing that, it allows us to create more offense.”

Winnipeg, on the other hand, has been on a bit of a downfall after a fairly strong start to the season. Over their last nine games, the Jets have won just two (both coming in their last three) and have allowed 29 goals (3.22 per game) over that span. The streak has dropped them five points back of Dallas in the division and 10 points out of a current playoff spot. Kyle Connor has paced the Jets throughout the season with 25 goals and 47 points so far.

“I think we have teams we are looking to catch and I think they are looking at us as a team to catch,” Tyler Seguin said. “Another big divisional game. We saw some glimpses of their game against Minnesota, who is a top team, and they really took it to them and had a lot of compete. They are a team that is feeling good and so are we, so it should be a good match.”

Jason Robertson looks to continue his recent success after tallying two power-play goals on Wednesday night. The top line of Robertson, Roope Hintz, and Joe Pavelski accounted for three of the four Stars goals, as Hintz added a breakaway tally in the second period.

Wednesday was a big game for John Klingberg. The defenseman has been inconsistent with all of the drama surrounding his contract negotiations but played one of his best games of the season against the Predators. The Swedish defenseman tallied two primary assists, both shots which were deflected in by Robertson on the power play. Despite his blurry future, Dallas needs more from their most skilled defenseman going forward.

"He was great tonight, [Wednesday]" Bowness said. "He made some outstanding plays at the blueline. He'll find you, and you better be ready for it. John was outstanding tonight. It was one of his better all-around games with and without the puck."

Jake Oettinger will get the start in goal for Dallas on Friday, his fourth straight start. He currently holds a 12-5-0 record with a 2.56 goals-against-average and .910 save percentage. It has been a bit of an up-and-down stretch for Oettinger, who was among the goaltending leaders earlier in the year but has been inconsistent lately. This will be the first game of his career against the Jets.

“I think it [the previous game against Nashville] was the closest thing we have felt to a playoff game this year. So it was great for our group to find a way to win that game and continuously come back with that following shift after they would react. It was a great hockey game and we expect a lot more of them. We’ve been doing a decent job as of late of not losing two games in a row but it’s time to start thinking of winning two games in a row and really building on that.”

Lineup Updates

• Radek Faksa did skate this morning and is DOUBTFUL tonight after being shaken up against Nashville

• Joe Pavelski missed practice on Thursday for a maintenance day but did skate this morning and WILL PLAY Friday

• Andrej Sekera is OUT with an upper-body injury and remains day-to-day

He Said It

“They are kind of in the same situation as us,” Suter said. “Both trying to find a way into the playoffs. We expect them to come hard and we have to be ready for that.”

Projected Lines

Robertson-Hintz-Pavelski

Benn-Seguin-Gurianov

Raffl-Kero-Glendening

Kiviranta-Peterson-Radulov

Lindell-Klingberg

Suter-Heiskanen

Hanley-Hakanpaa

Oettinger

Holtby