The Detroit Red Wings and the Dallas Stars face off for the second time this season this afternoon in Dallas at 2:00 ET.
The teams last met on Wednesday in Detroit, in a game the Wings won 4-1. Their remaining two games are scheduled for February 17th and March 13th.
The 23-15-4 Stars have dropped three straight, and have been outscored 11-4 in that span. The loss to the Wings was the second of those three; Dallas was knocked out by the Minnesota Wild, 6-3, the next night.
Although they will be playing their third game in four nights, the Stars will be highly motivated to stop this slide, much like the Blues were on December 20th.
Since Wednesday, Dallas has fallen from first in the Pacific and second in the Conference to second in the Division and fourth in the West.
According to Mike Heika, the status of Sergei Zubov (hand) is uncertain. The defenseman has missed the last two games, but practiced yesterday and apparently kept it simple. He's listed as questionable by the Dallas Morning News, though the notes section there says he's a game-time decision.
Jussi Jokinen (knee), Jere Lehtinen (hernia), and Phillippe Boucher (shoulder) remain out.
Heika also notes that Dave Tippett switched up the forwards some in practice yesterday, in an obvious attempt to generate some more offense.
As for the starting goaltender—that remains a bit of a mystery.
Marty Turco has had two rough outings in a row, but saw the most time in practice yesterday. He was pulled after allowing three goals on four shots Thursday night, and has beaten the Wings just once in his career.
I'd say conventional wisdom would put Mike Smith in net today, but if Tippett wants to force Turco to overcome his demons, we'll see No. 35.
For the Dallas side of things, see Andrew’s Stars Page, Razor with an Edge (official), Stars Blog (Dallas Morning News), and Stars Scene.
The Wings have been idle since Wednesday, and so are well-rested as they head into this brief road trip. After the game today, they'll head to Chicago to face the Blackhawks for the fifth time this season.
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