DALLAS -- The Los Angeles Kings and Dallas Stars find themselves in somewhat unfamiliar situations as they prepare to square off Tuesday at American Airlines Center.
The Kings (0-3-1) and Stars (0-2-2) are each riding four-game winless streaks, a trend each coach would like to quickly reverse.
Kings coach Darryl Sutter, whose team heads into the final game of a five-game road trip, isn't terribly unhappy with how the Kings have played thus far on the trip.
"We've played really well on the road. Other than for a few minutes in Detroit, we played really well," Sutter said. "We probably played better in a couple of these games than we did in our miraculous homestand that everybody talked about."
Dallas hasn't won since Oct. 24 at the New Jersey Devils, a 3-2 shootout victory. But the Stars, who are 1-0-4 at American Airlines Center, haven't won on home ice since a 6-3 victory against the Vancouver Canucks on Oct. 21. And even with their current struggles, Stars coach Lindy Ruff knows he has a tough draw in the reigning Stanley Cup champions.
"Well, we had tough matchups last year," Ruff said. "We played well against them. Obviously a big, heavy team that we're going to have to compete hard around the puck."