The Dallas Stars headed into Thanksgiving sitting atop the Central Division and having claimed victories in five of their last seven games.
So despite having dropped two of their last three outings, the latest being Wednesday’s 2-1 overtime affair with the Western Conference-leading Vegas Golden Knights, the Stars are feeling good about themselves in anticipation of hosting the Calgary Flames on Friday.
“Big picture, we are going into the break in a good spot,” coach Pete DeBoer said after the loss. “We have things that we have to get better at, but it was an important point.”
The Stars will finish a five-game homestand against a desperate Flames squad, but the day off in between clashes, along with a healthy serving of turkey, is a good opportunity to reset. As well as it played, Dallas must deal with the hint of disappointment in losing to the Golden Knights again.
It was, after all, a rematch of the 2023 conference final that Vegas won in six games en route to claiming the Stanley Cup.
Dallas had plenty of opportunities to take a lead against the Knights in the clash of the titans, especially during the second period in which the Stars outshot the visitors 17-6. Instead, the Stars have to take solace in a moral victory and turn the page.
“It’s two really good teams that play a heavy, hard game and tries to win every night. Good four lines and good goalies,” center Roope Hintz said. “Good crowd and of course, heavy game, and against them, it always feels like a playoff game.”
The Flames arrive in Dallas after a disappointing 4-2 loss to the Nashville Predators on Wednesday. Calgary was hoping to build on a comeback victory over the Seattle Kraken to start the four-game road trip, but it put up a flat performance that coach Ryan Huska called “slow and sloppy.”
“Obviously, not a good game. Slow. Leave (goalie Jacob Markstrom) out to dry. A million scoring chances against,” defenseman Chris Tanev said. “Definitely one we need to move past and learn from because we have some good teams coming up.”
The Flames, who boast the same mark as the Stars in their last three outings (1-1-1), are 5-2-2 in their past nine and believe they have a chance to continue climbing the standings.
It will take a bounce-back performance, but knowing the caliber of the opposition should help the Flames snap their game together.
“When we’re fast in the neutral zone, that’s when we’re dangerous. We get a forecheck going, get some offensive-zone time,” defenseman Noah Hanifin said. “We were just a little slow with it (against Nashville) and the defense weren’t too good on our gaps.”
Calgary is struggling in a key area of the game — the power play. The Flames were blanked on their four opportunities in Nashville and are on a miserable run with the man advantage. They have just one goal in the last eight games (1-for-22) and only five goals in the last 16 outings (5-for-50).
–Field Level Media
