Monday, November 13, 2017

Shooting Stars: Weekly Preview 11/12/17-11/18/17


The Dallas Stars have a good opportunity to pick up some much needed points this week.

They’ll face the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night, who are last in the Metropolitan Division. On Tuesday, they will travel to Florida to take on the Panthers, who are last in the Atlantic Division. They’ll then take on the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night and finish out the week against the
EdMonton Oilers on Saturday night. The Oilers have been struggling to put the puck in the net so far this season.

The Stars will need to need to find a way to contain Carolina’s Jeff Skinner, who leads the team in goals and is second in points. Dallas has good special teams and should use that to their advantage and cash in on their power plays. The Stars will need to play a solid 60-minute game, and not take off because the Canes will take advantage of any mistakes made. Dallas needs to get off to a fast start, establish the forecheck and not overtook the Hurricanes. The game could be close defensively so the Stars are going to have to use their speed and use the stretch pass to get behind the defense.

Carolina will need to make sure that they play a good game at even strength since the special teams aren’t too good. The Canes will need to make sure that they keep an eye on Alexander Radulov since he can produce points. The Hurricanes need to get the first goal of the game since they are 4-1-1 when doing so. The goaltending is going to need to come up big for Carolina since the Stars have some offensive weapons that can put the puck in the net. If Carolina has a power play then they’ll need to be sure to take advantage of it since Dallas doesn’t have he beat road penalty kill.

Dallas will need to stop the top four (Huberdeau, Barkov, Trocheck & Dadonov) of the Panthers and make the rest of the lineup beat them. The Stars will need to get some pucks on net with traffic in front since neither goalie for Florida has been spectacular this year. The Stars need to watch out for the defensive corps of the Panthers because they will join in the offensive zone. Dallas needs to make sure that they have the lead entering the third period since they don’t have any third period comebacks for wins this year.

The Panthers are going to need to play a strong even strength game since their special teams aren't that good. They'll need to have a better start to this game, and get some scoring chances and offensive pressure early since they have been outscored in first period of games this year. Florida will need to find a way to stop the balanced attack of the Stars by establishing a forecheck and cycle game to play in the offensive zone. The Panthers need to play a disciplined game since the Stars have the best power play in the League. Florida needs to avoid mistakes with the puck and turnovers.

Ben Bishop and the Stars will then go and visit Tampa Bay to play the Lighting. Dallas will need to avoid mistakes with and without the puck and also not turn the puck over. They will need to contain Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov by spending some time in the offensive zone and less time defending. Dallas will need to take advantage of the bad home penalty kill of the Bolts. The Stars will need to get the first goal of the game to take the crowd out of the game.

The Bolts will need to use their speed to enter the offensive zone. Tampa Bay will need to be good at even strength since the Stars are in the top three in both power play and penalty kill percentage. The Bolts need to get off to a fast start and just keep bringing the pressure. Tampa Bay will need to play a full 60 minutes since the Stars have guys that can put the puck in the net at any given time. They'll need to get pucks on net and pressure the defense to force turnovers in the neutral zone and offensive zone.

The Stars return home on Saturday to face Connor McDavid and the Oilers, who haven't gotten off to the best start this year. The Stars will need to find a way to contain McDavid and his speed since once he gets going, the will blow right by the defender to create something out of nothing. Dallas need to get pucks on net since the goalies haven't been as good as they were last season. They also need to get off to a fast start to keep the home crowd in the game, and maybe even score the first goal of the game. The Stars will need to have a good game defensively meaning elimination of turnovers, good coverage by all five guys on the ice and timely saves from whichever goalie happens to be in the net.

Edmonton will need to get pucks to the net with traffic in front and get a dirty goal or two to get the offense going. They'll need to stay out of the penalty box. The Oilers need to win the even strength battle to even have a shot at winning the game since the Stars special teams are that good. Edmonton will need to have the goalie steal a game for them. The Oilers will need to play a solid road game and play a good first 10 minutes of the game to be scoreless and get the offense involved in the game a little. 

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