Blackhawks at Stars preview
Dallas eyes point in 11 consecutive games; Chicago has lost two straight after 5-0-1 run
by Josh Clark / NHL.com Independent Correspondent
BLACKHAWKS (9-9-4) at STARS (13-8-2)
8 p.m. ET; FS-SW, NBCSCH, NHL.TV
The Game
The Dallas Stars will try to tie their longest point streak since the 2011-12 season when they host the Chicago Blackhawks at American Airlines Center on Saturday.
The Stars are 9-0-1 in their past 10 games and 12-1-1 in their past 14 after a 1-7-1 start. They are on a season-high five-game winning streak and have outscored their opponents 23-11. Their last 11-game point streak (10-0-1) occurred from Feb. 21 to March 13, 2012.
The Blackhawks have lost two straight after going 5-0-1 in their previous six. They ended a three-game homestand with a 4-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.
Players to watch
Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane has 20 points (eight goals, 12 assists) in an 11-game point streak.
Stars forward Jamie Benn has seven points (four goals, three assists) in a four-game point streak, including the game-winning goal in each of the past three.
They said it
"It's fun, especially in a divisional game. It's going to be a big test and could really change the look of the standings depending on the results. Everyone should be excited. I know we are as coaches and the players were zipping around this morning. We'll see how we perform tonight." -- Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton
"I expect the same thing from what we saw last year because they pretty much have the same team. Their core players are still the same. I expect a playoff game. It will be tough. Games against Chicago, especially here, there are always lots of Chicago fans. The atmosphere is great. It will be a big battle." -- Stars center Radek Faksa
Blackhawks projected lineup
Alex Nylander -- Jonathan Toews -- Brandon Saad
Alex DeBrincat -- Dylan Strome -- Patrick Kane
Dominik Kubalik -- David Kampf -- Andrew Shaw
Zack Smith -- Kirby Dach -- Ryan Carpenter
Duncan Keith -- Erik Gustafsson
Calvin de Haan -- Brent Seabrook
Olli Maatta -- Connor Murphy
Robin Lehner
Corey Crawford
Scratched: Slater Koekkoek
Injured: Drake Caggiula (concussion protocol)
Stars projected lineup
Jamie Benn -- Justin Dowling -- Tyler Seguin
Roope Hintz -- Joe Pavelski -- Alexander Radulov
Andrew Cogliano -- Radek Faksa -- Blake Comeau
Mattias Janmark -- Jason Dickinson -- Corey Perry
Esa Lindell -- John Klingberg
Jamie Oleksiak -- Miro Heiskanen
Andrej Sekera -- Roman Polak
Anton Khudobin
Ben Bishop
Scratched: Denis Gurianov, Taylor Fedun, Joel Hanley
Injured: Stephen Johns (post-traumatic headaches)
Status report
Hintz (lower body) and Klingberg (lower body) are expected to play, but a final decision will be made after warmups.
Stat pack
Dach has seven points (four goals, three assists) in his past six games. … The Stars are 7-0-1 in their past eight home games. … Keith will play in his 1,100th NHL game. … Perry will be honored in a pregame ceremony for playing in his 1,000th NHL game Nov. 13.