Stars’ stars tasked with matching red-hot Flames trio
The Calgary Flames’ top trio of Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan and Elias Lindholm has been one of the hottest lines in hockey this season, combining for 52 goals and 121 points.
Whoa.
The Stars, meanwhile, have shuffled their first unit as they try to snap out of a four-game skid, promoting recent call-up Denis Gurianov to join the dynamic duo of Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin.
Although Seguin (twice) and Benn both scored in Saturday’s 6-4 road loss to Colorado, the goto guys were hard on themselves. Benn told reporters their line “has to take a lot of blame. We just didn’t give ourselves a chance to win this game.”
Out-duelling Calgary’s best would be a nice way to bounce back.
Here are five things to watch for when the Stars (16-14-3) host the division-leading Flames (22-10-2) tonight in Dallas:
1 Marvellous month
The Flames have been hot since mid-November, sizzling to a 122-1 record and perching themselves atop the Pacific Division standings. They continued to roll in Sunday’s shellacking of the Blues, with five players notching multiple points — Gaudreau (3), Lindholm (3), Mark Giordano (2), Matthew Tkachuk (2) and Alan Quine (2) — in a 7-2 win. One of their only bummers during this superb stretch was a 4-3 overtime loss to the Stars in a Nov. 28 showdown at the Saddledome. Seguin notched the overtime winner that night.
2 Happy to be home
The Stars returned with nothing to show for a weeklong road trip, losing in Las Vegas, Anaheim, San Jose and Colorado. It’s worth noting the boys from the Big D have been much better in their own rink, with a 10-3-1 record at American Airlines Center. The Flames are 11-7-0 on the road.
3 Short-handed spree
Thanks to Lindholm’s breakaway beauty in St. Louis, the Flames have notched a short-handed goal in three straight games. Only once in franchise history have the Flames scored on the penalty kill in four consecutive contests, and that was in November 1987.
4 Bennett back?
The Flames are hopeful snarky winger Sam Bennett will return to the lineup in Dallas after sitting out Sunday due to a minor upper-body injury. In Bennett’s absence, fellow left-hander James Neal was promoted to skate on the right side with the second line. Neal’s goal-scoring dry spell has spanned 20 games. Adding to his misery, the 31-yearold needed to be stitched up after taking a puck in the face in St. Louis.
5 This ’n’ that
The Stars have won four in a row against the Flames, including an overtime triumph in late November and a three-game sweep last season … Heading into Monday’s action around the NHL, a couple of Calgary’s key pieces — Giordano and Lindholm — were among those tied for tops in the league with a plus-21 rating … The Stars are without blue-line ace John Klingberg ( broken hand), but he is expected to return later in the week.