The Stars' three-game winning streak has been against teams all above them in the standings (St. Louis, Edmonton, Colorado), but Saturday's game against Arizona poses a different sort of challenge. First, it's the second game in as many nights - something the Stars haven't done since the opening week of the season. Second, the Coyotes sit 31st in the 32-team league with a 4-14-2 record. That, however, isn't an indication of how the team is performing at the moment.
Though it's been a challenging season for the Coyotes, they've won two of their past three games and three of five. They posted consecutive wins against Detroit (2-1) and LA (2-1) on back-to-back nights earlier this week before losing 5-3 to Edmonton a day after the Oilers lost in Dallas.
This is the first of four meetings between the two club this season, and the first of two at Gila River Arena. Following Saturday's game, the season series will continue Dec. 6 at American Airlines Center and Jan. 2 at Gila River Arena before wrapping up April 27 in Dallas.
The Stars have logged wins in each of the past two games against Arizona and have won 11 of 12 overall (11-1-0) dating back to the 2015-16 season. They've also posted four wins in their past five trips to Gila River Arena, going 4-1-0 over that span.
Stars captain Jamie Benn has points in four of his past five games (one goal, six assists) against Arizona, with three multi-point games over that span. He has 21 points (seven goals, 14 assists) over his past 18 games against them, including nine points (four goals, five assists) in his past seven at Gila River Arena.
Catch the Stars on their upcoming three-game homestand as they take on the Carolina Hurricanes next Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Get your tickets now!
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Kyle Shohara is the Digital Manager for DallasStars.com and writes about the Stars/NHL. Follow him on Twitter @kyleshohara.
