Game Preview: Stars Try To Slow Down Scorching Penguins In Matinee Matchup

The Stars are coming off their third straight win, a 6-5 shootout victory over the Florida Panthers on Thursday night. The game was their first in 17 days following a long COVID pause. Now, they will be faced with an even tougher test as they battle the hottest team in the NHL, the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Penguins have won their last 10 games dating back to Dec. 4 and have scored 45 goals (4.5 goals per game) over that span. The top line of Sidney Crosby, Brian Rust, and Jake Guentzel has been a dominant force as of late, accounting for a ridiculous 23 points in the last three games. Rust has led the way with seven goals and four assists in those games.

For Dallas, they face a similar test to what they saw on Thursday night. The Penguins are a high-scoring team that has found their game as of late and the Stars will look to play a more solid team game than they did against the Panthers.

“You are now looking at a team that is going to play just as fast as Florida, that have won 10 in a row, and that are right on top of their game,” Stars head coach Rick Bowness said. “This team is playing the best hockey in the National Hockey League right now. As loose as we were in the first period Thursday, we cannot afford to do that tomorrow because we will be behind the 8-ball.”

Dallas has its own weapons to roll out on Saturday, as the top two lines have been hot as of late. The top trio of Roope Hintz (four points in last three games), Joe Pavelski (seven points in the last four games), and Jason Robertson (9 game home-point streak) have been dominant for the past two months of the season, while the newly appointed second line of Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, and Denis Gurianov has been their best line over the last three games. This success has been a huge positive in what was a constant search for depth scoring throughout the first three months of the season.

“We went back, we got the puck and we moved it up ice in a hurry,” Bowness said. “So if we take care of our zone with our breakouts and our coverage, the offense is going to take care of itself which it did last night [Thursday]. If we get offense from good team defense, we are going to continue to get those opportunities. It helps when it is balanced like it was night, so we want that to continue and that is something we will be emphasizing moving forward.”

The Stars will roll out a similar lineup to what we saw Thursday. The only change will come on the backend as Thomas Harley has been sent back down to the American Hockey League after playing in the team’s last four games. Bowness did not share which defenseman will replace Harley but expect either Andrej Sekera or Joel Hanley to be the most likely candidates.

Jake Oettinger will get the start on Saturday, his first since the long break. He currently holds a 7-2-0 record with a 2.24 goals-against average and .922 save percentage.