Dallas Rolling Along
The Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers have both won three straight games. One team, though, has had to put in a little extra to do so.
Dallas looks to make it six wins in a row at Edmonton on Tuesday night as it continues a four-game road trip.
Oddsmakers from SBG Global have made Dallas -115 money line favorites (NHL Odds) for today’s game, the over/under has been set at 6 goals (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 84% of bets for this game have been placed on Edmonton +105 (View NHL Bet Percentages).
After losing four of six, the Stars (18-11-4) have rebounded with three consecutive victories to move into a tie with San Jose atop the Pacific Division. Dallas has won five of seven and 11 of its past 15 games.
Edmonton (16-16-2), meanwhile, has matched a season high with its three straight wins – all via the shootout. The Oilers are 8-3-1 in their last 12 games and back at .500 for the first time since the fourth game of the season.
Edmonton has 10 victories in its 11 shootouts, two shy of the NHL record set by Dallas in 2005-06. Five teams tied for the league lead with 10 shootout wins last season.
"You have to give credit to the guys who are shooting," right wing Fernando Pisani said. "Sam Gagner, Ales Hemsky and Shawn Horcoff have all been so good and the goaltending has been great. With those working hand in hand it is a good recipe for success.”
The Stars temporarily moved into sole possession of first place in the Pacific with a 4-2 victory at San Jose on Saturday. The red-hot line of Mike Ribeiro, Brenden Morrow and Antti Miettinen had three goals and two assists, and Marty Turco was sharp again with 16 saves.
"It was an intense and hard-fought hockey game,” Stars coach Dave Tippett said. "They are a big strong team and we’re certainly not as big as they are, but we didn’t back down physically. This is a game a team can build off for the rest of the season.”
Ribeiro, Morrow and Miettinen have accounted for nine goals and 11 assists in the last three games. They had two goals and three assists in the Stars’ 5-4 overtime victory over the Oilers on Dec. 10.
Turco is 7-2-0 with a 1.98 goals-against average in his last nine starts. He’s 12-4-0 with three shutouts and a 2.24 GAA in 16 games against Edmonton.
Stars defenseman Sergei Zubov has one goal and eight assists during a four-game point streak. The NHL leader among defensemen with 32 points, Zubov is on pace for his most productive season since he had a career-high 89 points for the New York Rangers in 1993-94.
Edmonton’s shootout success continued Saturday with a 2-1 victory over Vancouver. Pisani scored the winner and Mathieu Garon stopped three of four attempts, improving to 18-for-20 on the season.
"We are really confident in the shootout,” Garon said. "It was a little harder and we had to wait for the end but we came through again.”
The Oilers have a hot line of their own in Shawn Horcoff, Ales Hemsky and Dustin Penner, who have combined for four goals and six assists during the three-game run.
The Stars have won three straight and six of their last seven meetings with the Oilers. Dallas has won five in a row – all one-goal victories – at Edmonton, last losing there on Jan. 20, 2004.
by: Staff Writers – Email Us
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