The Dallas Stars will be aiming for a perfect 10 when they visit the Calgary Flames on Tuesday.
Thanks to a 6-1 shellacking of the Vancouver Canucks on Monday to open a quick two-game trip, the Stars are riding a franchise-record nine-game winning streak.
“This team has been on a heater for a while, and we came back strong after the break,” said defenseman Lian Bichsel, who netted his first career two-goal game in Vancouver. “It’s great that we keep this rolling.”
Dallas has outscored the opposition 37-22 during its run and surrendered only four goals in three games since returning from the Olympic break. Making the winning spree all the more impressive, the Stars are currently without the services of injured mainstays Tyler Seguin, Roope Hintz, Mikko Rantanen and Radek Faksa.
“We’re a deep team, so a couple of guys go down, we have guys who can fill in. It’s big,” forward Matt Duchene said.
Pick a part of the game and the Stars are excelling right now. Their power play has converted at least once in six consecutive outings and eight of the past nine games. Their penalty kill has surrendered three goals against in eight outings (22 opportunities).
To top it off, the Stars are breaking open tight games. Against Vancouver, the score was 1-1 near the midway point before Bichsel and Jason Robertson tallied 70 seconds apart. Dallas then added a trio of third-period markers.
“We’re just staying with our game for a long period of time,” coach Glen Gulutzan said. “Right now, we’re doing a good job of outlasting teams, and that’s what I like.”
The Flames return to the Saddledome after taking a 3-2 shootout loss against the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday to end a three-game California road trip.
Sitting 11 points out of a playoff spot with 23 games remaining, the Flames are closing in on being mathematically eliminated, but they are still swinging.
Calgary, with three wins in the past 11 games (3-5-3), posted a 1-1-1 record on the road trip and could have pulled off a victory against a Ducks team that has won five straight games.
“We didn’t really like our effort (Saturday) night,” said forward Joel Farabee, referring to a 2-0 loss to the Los Angeles Kings. “I thought we played a lot better (at Anaheim). On a back-to-back, it’s tough. (The Ducks are) skilled and young, and they can skate seemingly, like, forever, so I thought we were there. We had chances to win and we just didn’t get the bounce.”
Although Calgary has reached the point where elimination from playoff contention is just a matter of time, a huge positive has been the play of goaltenders Dustin Wolf and Devin Cooley. Despite their position in the standings, the Flames are tied for 11th in the league in goals against per game (2.92).
The team’s anemic offense that sits tied for last in the league (2.47 goals per game) has made wins all the more difficult.
“It’s nice when you have two goaltenders that you know whoever is in the net, they’re going to do what they can do to allow our team to stay in games,” coach Ryan Huska said. “It’s gotta be up to us to generate enough for them to win.”
