While the Dallas Stars have yet to lose three straight games in 2022-23, the Florida Panthers still haven’t won three in a row this season.
Either could happen Sunday, when the Stars host the Panthers.
The Central Division-leading Stars scored 16 goals while winning their final four games of 2022. However, they opened 2023 with a 3-2 loss at Los Angeles and 2-0 setback at Anaheim on back-to-back nights.
Dallas had not dropped consecutive games in regulation since Nov. 8 and 11. Though the Stars are in position to lose three straight for the first time since April, coach Peter DeBoer is not overly concerned with this team’s struggles at the moment.
“I think you can overreact a little bit,” DeBoer said. “We lost two in a row. I think I’ll wait until it gets a little worse before I start throwing out that terminology.”
Perhaps DeBoer feels that way because Dallas is returning home, where it’s suffered only four regulation defeats this season (11-4-3 at home) and won four of the last five. The Stars also aim to sweep the season series from Florida after winning 6-4 on the road Nov. 17.
Roope Hintz scored twice while Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Ty Dellandrea each added a goal with an assist against the Panthers. Hintz, second on the team with 44 points (19 goals, 25 assists), has three goals and seven assists in 10 career games versus Florida.
From Dec. 6-Jan. 1, Florida went 4-9-0, but followed with a 5-3 home win over Arizona before taking a 3-2 win at Detroit on Friday to open a four-game stretch on the road, where it’s won twice in the last seven (2-5-0).
On Friday, Aaron Ekblad scored twice and Sergei Bobrovsky made 29 saves for the Panthers, who last won three consecutive games spanning March and April of last season — part of a 13-game winning streak.
“Just take all the good things (from Friday): playing hard, playing smart,” Florida forward Aleksander Barkov, who with two assists against Detroit has nine points (three goals, six assists) in his last six games, told Bally Sports Florida.
“Just play with confidence, like we’re going to build our game playing hard. Those are two really important things.”
Like continuing a power-play performance that’s 4-for-8 in the last three games. And, a penalty-kill effort that successfully defended all five Detroit chances with the man advantage.
Florida posted a pair of power-play goals, while stars Matthew Tkachuk and Carter Verhaeghe each had a goal with an assist in the November loss to Dallas.
Bobrovsky (3.26 goals-against average) was pulled after allowing four goals on 11 first-period shots during that contest against the Stars. Meanwhile, Spencer Knight, who stopped 16 of 17 shots he faced in relief of Bobrovsky, has yielded 17 goals over his last four starts.
Dallas’ Jake Oettinger (2.39 GAA) allowed two goals on 21 shots against Florida this season in replacing Scott Wedgewood, who saved 21 of 23 shots before exiting with an upper-body injury. Wedgewood has a 2.26 GAA in his last four starts, while Oettinger yielded two goals each in winning his past two home starts.
The Stars are 2-0-1 in the past three home meetings with Florida.
–Field Level Media
