The Preds take a quick jaunt to Dallas today to face the Stars, before returning home for another matchup tomorrow.
Dallas is securely in playoff position, balancing a talented youth group with several still-contributing veteran players. Jason Robertson stands head and shoulders above the team with 42 goals and 97 points, while Miro Heiskanen ties him for assists with 55. The two of them are going to be fun to watch for a long time. Jamie Benn and Joe Pavelski are also reliable contributors, topping the 70-point mark.
Jake Oettinger and Scott Wedgewood have both been good in goal, with Oettinger carrying the lion’s share of the starts and managing a slight lead in sv% with a .917 to Wedgewood’s .913. Both of them have played well behind a good defense and penalty kill; it will be challenging to break onto the scoreboard.
Offensively, the Stars have been pretty average. They have a terrifying power play which has still somehow only managed to convert at a slightly above-average clip; it’s capable of a lot more, and the Preds should try to avoid giving them chances to show it off.
Right now Dallas is in the second spot in the Central, and I’m sure they’d like to keep home ice or improve their seeding. This won’t be an easy one for the Preds, but hear me out: I’ve had a long week and I really hate the Stars’ goal song, so if they could just limit the number of times I have to hear it tonight as a personal favor, that’d be great.
The game airs at 7:30 Central/8:30 Eastern on Bally Sports South and 102.5 The Game.