Crunch time: Homestand crucial for Stars
/Andrew's Dallas Stars Page
The Dallas Stars can only take their schedule one game at a time, but they know the next six games - all of them at home - are crucial if they want to make the playoffs.
"That's probably an understatement," Stars goalie Marty Turco said after Wednesday's loss in Buffalo when asked if the homestand was the make or break part of the team's season. "Every game is so vital to not getting any farther behind. We have to win to stay afloat and get a little bit of help from the other teams."
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The Stars didn't get much help Thursday night. Eighth place Calgary won again, moving seven points ahead of the Stars and tying Nashville at 77 points. The Predators, who lost 8-5 at San Jose, remain in seventh place based on the wins tiebreaker.
Ninth place Detroit won as well, moving six points up on the Stars.
St. Louis, which beat the New York Islanders in a shootout, moved one point ahead of the Stars, who are now in 11th place.
All that puts even more pressure on the Stars to win - especially Friday against Los Angeles - just to keep pace, and then to keep winning beyond that in hopes of starting to gain some ground in the race.
"It's our season," Stars forward Steve Ott said of the homestand. "It's 12 points, and those are huge. If we don't get the ship in the right direction here on this homestand, we may as well call the season."
The opposition on the homestand is stiff. All six opponents are currently in the playoffs and four of the teams rank in the top ten league-wide in points. Two of the teams - San Jose and Los Angeles - rank among the top three in the league in road points.
The Stars have a combined 5-8-2 record against the five teams on the homestand that they've already played this season, including a 2-4-1 record at American Airlines Center.
Here's a look at the six opponents on the upcoming trip.
| Team | Record | Comment |
| Los Angeles | 39-22-5/5th in West |
The Kings, who are 4-0-0 against the Stars this season, are 2-2-1 since the Olympic break, including a 5-1 win in Dallas. Los Angeles ranks third in the league in road points with 42 (20-12-2). They'll be missing goalie Jonathan Quick, who is with his wife as she is about to give birth to the couple's first son, but RW Justin Williams will be returning after missing extended time with a broken leg. |
| Colorado | 38-23-6/6th in West | The Stars are 1-2-0 against the Avalanche this season, losing both meetings in Denver and winning in Dallas. Colorado is 3-3-0 since the break. The Avalanche have lost RW Brandon Yip to a separated shoulder. They'll have had two days between games when the two teams meet. |
| San Jose | 43-14-9/1st in West | The Stars are 2-1-0 against the Sharks so far this season and both Dallas wins have come in the shootout. The two teams will meet three times in 16 days during the month of March. San Jose, which is 3-1-0 since the Olympic break, leads the league in road points with 44 (21-8-2). |
| Philadelphia | 35-27-4/6th in East | The Stars lost to the Flyers 6-3 in Philadelphia on January 12. Philadelphia is 3-2-1 since the break and has a seventh point lead over the ninth place New York Rangers. The Flyers lost goalie Ray Emery for the season back in February. Michael Leighton is 15-4-2 for the Flyers since being claimed off waivers from Carolina. |
| Ottawa | 37-26-5/5th in East | This will be the only meeting between the Stars and Senators this season. Ottawa's stumbled a bit since the break, dropping four of five games (1-3-1). Goalie Brian Elliot leads all Eastern Conference goalies in wins since January 1 (14-6-2). |
| Phoenix |
40-22-5/4th in West |
Phoenix has won three of five from the Stars this season, but Dallas shut out the Coyotes in the last two meetings. Phoenix is 3-1-0 since the Olympic break. Both teams will be playing the second game of a back-to-back when they meet. |
