The Dallas Stars will take on the Florida Panthers in a Central Division battle on Wednesday night. Dallas is struggling and has lost seven out of their last eight games. The Panthers continue to thrive and have been one of the best teams in the NHL. These foes are in the middle of a three-game set. Florida tallied a 3-1 home win over the Stars on Monday to open the series.
Stars Tagged with Sixth Consecutive Defeat
The Dallas Stars are in need of a win in a big way. They have been tagged with the loss in six consecutive games overall. Dallas hasn’t been able to find enough offense to win games right now and have to play this hot Panthers team in their next two games. The Stars are dealing with several injuries. Tyler Seguin and Alexander Radulov remain out of the lineup. Stars #1 goalie Ben Bishop is also out.
Jamie Benn hasn’t been able to find a groove recently. The veteran captain only has one point in his last five games overall and was held off the scoresheet in Monday’s defeat. Benn has just seven points on the season. Roope Hintz is producing, earning at least one point in three out of his last four performances. The 24-year old winger has 10 points in 11 games. Joe Pavelski leads the team with 17 points.
🎥 Klingberg: "I think they had (29) shots in the second period. That's not us at all. That's very disappointing, that's something we're going to work on here and not going to happen again."@ATT | #GoStars pic.twitter.com/z49bCzeu5G
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) February 23, 2021
Dallas had Anton Khudobin in the crease on Monday night and gave up only two goals on 51 shots. The veteran is having a mediocre season, recording a 3-4-1 record and a 2.66 GAA. Jake Oettinger has been the better goalie, sporting a 2.31 GAA and a .909 save percentage. The Stars are scoring an average of 3.2 goals per game, ranking them 11th in the league. They are limiting opponents to 2.7 goals, good for 10th in the NHL.
Panthers Top Stars in Season Series Opener
The Florida Panthers rebounded from a surprising loss to the Red Wings with Monday’s solid home win against Dallas. The Panthers have talent but were not expected to be battling atop the Central division this season. Florida is piling on the goals and the defensive play is improved compared to last season.
Jonathan Huberdeau continues to thrive, collecting eight points in his last five games including an assist in Tuesday’s defeat. The veteran winger is among the top point producers in the league, recording seven goals along with 16 assists. Aleksander Barkov is having an incredible season. The 25-year old center has tallied four points in his last three games and has been one of the best forwards in the NHL this season, accumulating 19 points in 17 games. Florida has a few talented offensive d-man including Keith Yandle who has 13 points.
The Ek-qualizer 💥 pic.twitter.com/UwB2T3VEHB
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) February 23, 2021
Florida is giving equal playing time in net to Chris Driedger and Sergei Bobrovsky. Driedger got the start on Monday and made 24 saves on 25 shots. He is having a terrific season, recording a 7-1-1 record and a 2.20 GAA. Bobrovsky hasn’t been as effective as Driedger, posting a 3.18 GAA and an .888 save percentage. The Panthers are averaging a terrific 3.4 goals, landing them fifth in the NHL. They are allowing an average of 2.8 goals, placing them 16th overall.
Team Trends
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The Dallas Stars are:
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The Florida Panthers are:
- 1-4 in their last 5 games when their opponent scores two or fewer goals in their previous game.
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