The Dallas Stars visit the Nashville Predators on Saturday, knowing two vital points are up for grabs in the chase for playoff positioning in the Central Division.
While sitting in postseason spots after their games on Thursday, the teams find themselves in an exceptionally tight division race. The Stars lead with 42 points, but the fourth-place Predators, currently in a Western Conference wild-card spot, sit just four points behind.
With the schedule approaching the holiday break and NHL roster freeze, the points to be gained Saturday are vital in the leadup to 2024 portion of the season.
For the Stars, the game in Nashville begins a brief two-contest stretch on the road before they return home for five straight matchups beginning Dec. 29 against the Chicago Blackhawks, who are in last place in the Central.
Dallas enters riding a wave of momentum after defeating the NHL-leading Vancouver Canucks 4-3 in a comeback overtime victory on Thursday night, replicating its previous result against the Seattle Kraken.
Matt Duchene scored the overtime winner and notched an assist, and Thomas Harley also scored and added a helper as the Stars ended a seven-game losing streak to the Canucks, while extending their points streak to five games.
In that stretch, the Stars dropped a point only in an overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues. The run saw them knock off the Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators, in addition to the Canucks and Kraken.
Harley, in particular, took a significant stride in win over Vancouver, with the 22-year-old continuing to thrive after spending most of last season in the American Hockey League with the Texas Stars.
“Incredible the strides he’s taken in a really short amount of time,” Stars forward Tyler Seguin said of Harley, who has scored a goal in three of his past four contests. “He’s found himself a nice home here. There’s only so much you can say about him for still being a kid and having that confidence.”
Meanwhile, the visiting Predators also enter the matchup in good form, having won eight of their past 10 games, their latest victory coming in a 4-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday.
Philip Tomasino scored twice in the win, while Gustav Nyquist and Cole Smith added markers on the back of a 29-save performance from Juuse Saros.
Goaltending also will be an intriguing issue heading into the matchup, with both teams garnering solid play from their goalies. Scott Wedgewood has played the past four games for Dallas with Jake Oettinger on the bench. At the same time, the Predators have seen success with Saros and backup Kevin Lankinen.
Saros became the second-winningest goaltender in franchise history on Thursday, passing Tomas Vokoun, with 162.
“He’s our backbone,” Smith said. “We know we’ve got him back there kicking for us. For any little breakdowns, we’ve got Juicy. He made that huge save there in the third on that breakaway, and that was the break we needed. And he comes up big for us all the time.”
–Field Level Media
