Stars have sights on play-off party

DUNDEE Stars can secure their play-off spot with a win over Fife Flyers in front of a sold-out home crowd tonight – before rounding off their weekend with a trip to face their derby rivals.

The Stars welcome Flyers tonight with a win the only thing on their mind as two points would secure their berth in the play-offs. Fife, meanwhile, also require one victory and some results to go their way to cement their spot.

A victory tonight would put Dundee on 51 points and give them the edge over the Flyers in a tie-breaking scenario with more regulation wins and a better head-to-head record after winning first five league clashes between the two old foes.

After letting leads slip in both Challenge Cup games against Tom Coolen’s men, the Stars responded by defeating the Flyers 6-4 and 4-2 in Kirkcaldy and then 10-1 and 3-2 after overtime in Dundee.

Marc LeFebvre’s side have outscored their arch-enemies 28-18 so far this season and the last clash between the two saw them play out a tightly-contested affair that required extra-time to find a winner.

Leading Dundee’s attack against Fife has been Anthony Rinaldi, with the rapid winger scoring eight goals and setting up four more in six appearances this season, while Kyle Osterberg has bagged 10 points (4G, 6A) in six games against the Stars.

Speaking before tonight’s final regular season home game, Stars boss LeFebvre said: “We will continue to treat this just like any other game.

“It is all about playing hard for a full 60 minutes and doing all the little things right to find a way to get two points.

“It is great to be playing in front of a sold-out building but they are still a good team who have a lot of guys who can hurt you and also Shane Owen, who is one of the best goalies in the league.

“So, we have to play smart defensively against them and create chances to keep them at bay for most of the night.

“We are tied on points, we are just climbing for play-off positions and tonight can be the night we clinch it. So we need a complete effort from everybody.”

Face-off for tonight’s soldout home game is 7pm while tomorrow’s clash in Kirkcaldy starts at 5.15pm.

CLEAR MISSION: Head coach Marc LeFebvre wants Dundee to claim victory over Fife at a sold-out Dundee Ice Arena tonight and clinch a play-off spot.

Anthony Rinaldi has tormented Flyers.