Carolina Hurricanes vs. Dallas Stars: Game Preview

The Carolina Hurricanes head back to Raleigh on the high of a last-minute win against Chicago, which has to be a great note on which to begin a lengthy homestand. Tonight’s game against the Dallas Stars is the first of eight consecutive games at home. While the Stars are attempting to chase down a playoff spot, the Hurricanes are looking to put more distance between themselves and the rest of the pack who are chasing after them.

Picking up points against the Hurricanes might be a tough order for the Stars, however: they are winless against the Hurricanes in four tries this season. The journey for the Stars has been a bit of a roller coaster as of late, with Dallas squandering points against teams they need to beat if they want to stay in the race.

The Stars, who haven’t won consecutive games since their four-game winning streak to start the season, are coming off a strong performance against the Nashville Predators, in a game where the Stars’ offense finally started to show some more convincing signs of life.

A healthy, high-octane Stars team isn’t exactly great news, so the Hurricanes’ defense will need to be on their best behavior. Let’s look at how the teams match up:

Game Notes

• With Petr Mrazek nearing a return for the Hurricanes, there are questions about how the Hurricanes wil share the crease, but Alex Nedeljkovic’s he picked up some honors en route, earning a nod for Rookie of the Month in March, where he went 6-1-1 in his appearances. Regardless of what happens next for Nedeljkovic, he’s shown that he can stand on his own in the NHL.
• In four games against the Stars this season, the Hurricanes have scored 17 goals to the Stars’ 10, with two of the wins coming in shootouts. Aside from the first game, a 4-1 win for the Hurricanes, the rest of the matchups have been closely contested affairs.
• The Stars are still inundated with injuries: Joel Hanley, Joel Kiviranta and Alexander Radulov are more recent additions, while Ben Bishop and Tyler Seguin have yet to play this year.
• Sidelined by off-season surgery, it’s been a long road back for Seguin. He is expected to begin practicing in a few weeks, so the Hurricanes may have to face him eventually, but that’s a problem for Future Carolina.
• If you’re on Jordan Staal’s 1000th Game watch, the clock is ticking: he’s sitting on 994 right now.
• Dougie Hamilton’s points streak may have been snapped, or maybe it just took a brief hiatus. He registered two assists against Chicago, and his next goal will be his 100th career goal.
• In case you missed it, Fox Sports Carolinas is now Bally Sports Southwest. Enjoy your new sports branding, folks!