In search of their 3rd consecutive win, the Carolina Hurricanes hit the road and take on the NHL-leading Dallas Stars.
Information
Carolina Hurricanes (10-13-4) vs. Dallas Stars (20-5-2)
Tuesday, December 8, 2015 – 8:30 (EST)
Dallas, Texas – American Airlines Arena
TV/Radio – Fox Sports Carolinas/99.9 FM The Fan, WRALSportsFan.com
Projected Lineups
Carolina Hurricanes
Dallas Stars
Preview
The Carolina Hurricanes have found an offensive rhythm over the past two outings, tallying 8 goals in route to consecutive wins. On Tuesday, they will have a tall task as they visit the league-leading Dallas Stars.
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A late comeback on Sunday got the Canes a big win on home ice to close out a 3-game homestand in which they went 2-1-0. With just 17 seconds to go in the 3rd period, Justin Faulk provided the heroics for the home team and made it a 5-4 game against the Arizona Coyotes. That’s how it would go on to end.
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Both teams played sloppily, but the Hurricanes were able to get the win, and ultimately, that’s all that matters. Now, the club will face a much tougher team in the Stars.
Dallas has the best offense in the league, averaging 3.4 goals per games. They also rank 3rd in the league on the powerplay, converting on 24.1% of their man advantages.
This offensive charge has been led by the elite play of Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. They both enter Tuesday’s action with 35 points in 27 games, good for 2nd in the NHL. Benn leads the NHL in goals scored with 18.
The impressive break-out year from John Klingberg has also been a massive part of this team’s success. He may be a defenseman, but he is producing points like an elite forward. He has 22 assists and 27 points in 27 games, both of those stats rank 2nd amongst all NHL defensemen.
The key for Carolina on Tuesday will be containing Dallas’ top players. This young defense, anchored by the likes of Justin Faulk, Noah Hanifin and Brett Pesce, will need to keep up with this high-flying offense.
All eyes will be on Faulk in particular. Justin Faulk outplayed both P.K. Subban and Oliver Ekman-Larsson over the weekend. He will need to outplay the Stars’ top blue liner in the aforementioned Klingberg.
Cam Ward struggled big time against the Coyotes, allowing 4 goals on 22 shots, so expect Eddie Lack to get the net against a team that he is more familiar with after playing against them often in the Western Conference in Vancouver for 2 years. On the other hand, Ward has won two straight, so head coach Bill Peters may opt to roll with the winning goalie. The work load id starting to pile up for Cam as of late. If he does get the nod on Tuesday, it’ll be his 3rd start in 4 days.
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These two teams met once already this year. The Stars took down the Canes by a score of 4-1 in Raleigh on November 6. Eric Staal scored the lone goal for Carolina. Eddie Lack allowed 3 goals on 28 shots in the loss.
Dallas is coming off of 3-days rest, so they will be rested and ready. They’ve also lost 2 of their last 3 games, so they’ll be playing with a chip on their shoulder as well. The club also has two hot goalies in Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi, so whoever they play, it’ll be a challenge for Carolina’s offense to get pucks in the net.