Coyotes/Stars – Preview – 7? Do I hear 7? Come oooon 7!!!!
Phoenix Coyotes vs. Dallas Stars
American Airlines Center – Dallas, Texas
Puck Drops at 4:00 PM Arizona Time
TV: FSN AZ – RADIO: XTRA 910
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Last five games:
Stars: 3 – 2 – 0
Coyotes: 5 – 0 – 0
Last ten games:
Stars: 6 – 2 – 0
Coyotes: 8 – 2 – 0
| Point Leaders | |
| Stars | Richards(61), Eriksson(51), Neal(40) |
| Coyotes | Doan(43), Lombardi(35), Vrbata(34) |
| Goal Leaders | |
| Stars | Neal(22), Eriksson(21), Richards(17) |
| Coyotes | Upshall(18), Vrbata(18), Doan(17) |
| Assists Leaders | |
| Stars | Richards(44), Eriksson(30), Robidas(23) |
| Coyotes | Doan(26),Lombardi(25), Yandle(20) |
The Coyotes and Dallas Stars meet for the third (of six) meetings this season with the Coyotes winning all previous meetings in November. The Coyotes are playing three of the next five games on the road before the Olympic break and will need every point to maintain their standings in the Western Conference. So far on this road trip the Coyotes have earned two points in each of their three games on the road and have extended their overall winning streak to six straight games.
The Stars are pretty much where I thought they would be at the beginning of the season….the middle of the pack in the division. The Stars aren’t a bad team like the Leafs or the Oilers. However, they aren’t a great team either. Marc Crawford has the Stars pretty much playing at the best of their abilities this season producing solid performances yet inconsistent final scores.
Things to watch for:
- Keith Yandle – Since getting snubbed by USA Hockey for the 2010 Men’s Olympic hockey team he has been on a TEAR notching points and playing some amazing hockey.
- The Stars without Ribero – Without one of their best offensive weapons in the lineup, it remains to be see who the Stars scoring threats will be. Mike Modano is on a bit of a points streak with three goals in his last two games and six goals in his last eight games. Brad Richards has at least a point in all home games at the American Airlines Center except for four of them.
Keys to the game:
Coyotes can’t let Ott throw them off their games – Steve Ott is going to go after the main scores on the Coyotes roster and try to sucker them into taking bad penalties. He leads the Stars in hits and penalty minutes this season. In addition Ott has six points in his last nine games.
Discipline – The last time these two teams met, the Coyotes allowed an astronomical 23 shots on goal in the 3rd period en route to a 4-2 victory. In the first period of that same game, the Coyotes only allowed 5 Dallas shots on goal.
Mike Richards – Has been on a scoring tear as of late. This season he has tallied 11 goals and 30 assists for 41 points in the last 38 games. He currently leads all Dallas scorers with 61 points. Not someone you want to have possession of the puck.
Game Notes:
- Bryzgalov gets the start in net tonight (via the Coyotes website)
Officials:
Referees: Gord Dwyer (19), Kerry Fraser (2)
Linesmen: Darren Gibbs (66), Bryan Pancich (96)
Injuries:
Coyotes: Kurt Sauer, Scottie Upshall,
Dallas: Mike Modano, Mike Ribeiro, Brian Sutherby, Tom Wandell
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