The Stars end 2017 with the San Jose Sharks in town. On Tuesday night, Dallas will play host to the Columbus Blue Jackets, who have been struggling lately. On Thursday, it is the red hot New Jersey Devils turn to visit the Stars. Dallas will end the week with a visit from the suddenly hot Edmonton Oilers and Connor McDavid.
The Stars will need to stay out of the penalty box against the Sharks, who have the sixth best power play in the League. Dallas should try to get the first goal of the game an keep the home crowd in the game right off the bat. The Stars must have the lead when entering the final period of the game since they don't have any come from behind wins when trailing after two periods. Dallas needs to make sure that they are good at even strength because the special teams of the Sharks are really good. The Stars must get the defense involved in the offense and use the stretch pass to breakout of their own zone.
The Sharks will need to get some good goaltending from either Martin Jones or Aaron Dell. They should get their forecheck and cycle game going early and often. San Jose need to play with discipline and not take any dumb penalties. The Sharks will need to get off to a better start since they have been outscored in the first period of games by three goals. The Sharks must get traffic in front of the Stars net because if the goalies can see the puck then they will likely stop it.
Dallas will need to get their power play going against the Blue Jackets since their penalty killing is in the middle of the pack in the League. The Stars must have the lead entering the final period of the game, and must play better in the final period since they are getting outscored 42-28 by their opponents. It would benefit the Stars to get the first goal of the game. Dallas needs to keep an eye out for when Zach Werenski and Seth Jones are on the ice for Columbus since the two defensemen can drive the play in the offensive zone. The Stars need the defense to be good and that includes the forwards helping out.
The Blue Jackets are going to need the power play to get going if they want any chance to win this game. Columbus has been struggling in their last 10 games so they want to get back on track and play with better effort. The Blue Jackets need to play a full 60 minutes and not just play 40 minutes. Columbus is going to need to stop the trio of Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and John Klingberg since they are three of the top players on Dallas at driving the offense. The Blue Jackets will need to get good goaltending in this game since Dallas has the offensive power to score some goals.
The Metropolitan leading New Jersey Devils will visit the Stars on Thursday night. The Stars need to get off to another good start in this game and be sure to get the forecheck established early. Dallas wants to stay out of the penalty box since they will be facing another good power play unit. The Stars need to play a solid 60 minute game and make sure that the whole team is involved from the drop of the puck.
The Devils need to force some turnovers and capitalize on them. New Jersey will want to keep an eye out for Alexander Radulov and Esa Lindell since they both can put up some numbers on the offensive side of the puck. The Devils should try to win the even strength battle and just play their game. New Jersey needs to play a solid, 60 minute road game and not give up too many chances or goals.
The Stars end the week with a visit from the suddenly hot Edmonton Oilers. Dallas needs to take advantage of a very weak penalty kill of the Oilers, who rank last in killing off penalties taken. The Stars should try to get the first goal of the game and keep Connor McDavid off the board, or at least in check during the game. Dallas should have the lead entering the final period of the game. The Stars want to keep an eye on the centers of the Oilers because they can really skate and drive play in the offensive zone. Dallas needs to win the even strength battle.
The Oilers want to win the special team battle since the teams numbers at even strength are similar. Edmonton needs to play a consistent 60 minutes and not have mental lapses during the game. The Oilers should have the lead entering the final period since they don't have many come from behind wins in the third period. Edmonton will want to keep an eye on Matthias Janmark and Radek Faksa since they can put the puck in the net. The Oilers need to get some good goaltending in order to keep pace with the Stars in this game.
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