Stars Head West
The Dallas Stars look to close out a four-game road trip against Pacific Division rivals with three victories when they meet the Los Angeles Kings on Friday.
Dallas (7-7-2) is in the midst of playing six straight games within its division, splitting the first four contests. The Stars’ two wins in that span, though, have come on this trip – 5-0 over Anaheim and 3-1 at San Jose.
Oddsmakers from SBG Global have made Dallas -118 money line favorites (NHL Odds) for today’s game, the over/under has been set at 5.5 goals (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 71% of bets for this game have been placed on Los Angeles +108 (View NHL Bet Percentages).
They lost 5-2 to Phoenix on Thursday, but now have a chance to get back on track with a matchup against the Kings (7-8-0). Dallas is 9-1-0 in its last 10 games against Los Angeles, including 4-1-0 at Staples Center. However, the lone loss came in the last meeting there on Oct. 25, a 2-1 defeat after Dallas routed the Kings 5-1 at home on Oct. 10 and swept all eight meetings last season.
The Stars allowed three power-play goals to Phoenix Thursday in a game they never led. Dallas is 1-4 when allowing the first goal.
"That’s just chasing the game," Stars coach Dave Tippett said. "The team that has the lead is going to have a real advantage. If there was a fault in this game that was the fault."
Mike Ribeiro, Dallas’ leading scorer with 16 points, was held without a point for a second consecutive game Thursday. The center, who had a goal and two assists in the win at San Jose Monday, has a team-high 11 points in the last 10 matchups with the Kings.
Marty Turco hopes another meeting with Los Angeles can help him rebound from Thursday’s loss, during which he allowed a season-high five goals on 31 shots.
Turco is 6-1-0 with a 1.69 goals-against average in his last seven games against the Kings. He made 28 stops on Oct. 25, but allowed the game-winning goal to Alexander Frolov on Los Angeles’ first shot of the third period.
After visiting Southern California, the Stars open a five-game homestand with a matchup against San Jose on Wednesday as they continue a stretch of 10 of 11 contests against Pacific rivals.
"These are tough division games that we need to be fully motivated toward every chance we get," Stars left wing Brenden Morrow told the team’s official Web site.
The Kings, meanwhile, are coming off a split of a home-and-home set with the Sharks. They dropped the back end of the series 3-1 at home last Saturday after winning 5-2 the night before.
"We were pressing a little bit," said Kings forward Michael Cammalleri, who was held without a point Saturday after getting three Friday. "We played more of an impatient game. It was a big game that we were excited about. We were at home and we wanted to play hard. It could have been a big win for us."
Frolov, who led the Kings with a career-high 35 goals last season, has only three in 2007-08. He has been held without a goal in four consecutive games since ending a season-opening eight-game drought by scoring in three straight contests.
Frolov has only two goals in his last 10 games against the Stars.
Los Angeles has dropped two of its last three following a season-high four-game winning streak.
by: Staff Writers – Email Us
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