Dallas looks to close gap with Vegas

On Jan. 1 the Stars had the third best record in the league at 23-9-6 (.684) and sat 10 points ahead of eighth place in the West.
On Saturday, Dallas is eighth in the league at 30-16-12 (.621) and sits three points out of eighth place in the West.
The Stars are 7-7-6 in the past 20 games.

There is not only concern related to their current struggles of scoring enough goals and valuable power play opportunities, but it also makes every point that much more valuable. On Saturday the Stars play the Golden Knights who sit in first place in the West, three points ahead of the Stars, so it should be some extra motivation for Dallas to try to get that top spot back. But the real nervousness begins when you consider that Winnipeg is one point back, Minnesota is two points back and Colorado is three points back.
Dallas once had a pretty good hold on the Central Division lead, and now fourth place doesn't seem that far away. Yes, there still is a six-point cushion on the playoff cut line, but a lot has changed for the Stars in the past two months.
"It's getting pretty tight there, so it's going to make this last stretch a little more fun for everybody," said defenseman Jani Hakanpää. "I think it's going to be good for us. We've got to have a playoff mentality down the stretch."

The Stars are coming off a gut punch loss to the Blackhawks and are 2-3-5 in their past 10 games. Vegas is 6-0-1 in its past seven games and is starting to click. Dallas beat Vegas, 4-0, in its last trip here, so the Golden Knights should be motivated. The Stars are trying to straighten the ship, so they should be motivated too.
"For us, we've got to work our way out of it and find that swagger and confidence again," Stars coach Pete DeBoer said.
As Hakanpää noted, it might be a good thing that standings are tightening up. It certainly will test the Stars.
"Let's be honest. I don't think anyone saw us running away with the conference by 15 or 20 points, so we knew this was going to be a dogfight right to the last day of the season," DeBoer said. "We're in a good spot. We've just got to get back on the right side of it again."

Jake Oettinger will start in goal, but Scott Wedgewood, who missed last game, will back up. That means the Stars have the cap space and the roster spot to call up another forward. They chose not to do that and will go with 11 forwards and seven defensemen (which they did against Chicago). If morning skate was any indication, it appears Joel Hanley will likely play more defense and the centers are probably going to be double-shifted.
"I think the schedule allows us to do this," DeBoer said. "We've had a pretty light schedule and it gives us the opportunity to do that."
Key Numbers
7-5-12
The Stars are 7-5-12 in one-goal games. They are tied for the NHL lead in overtime/shootout losses. Vegas is 17-7-5 in one-goal games (third in the NHL). The Golden Knights are 9-5 in overtime/shootouts.
35
Dallas is third in fewest goals against in the first period at 35. Vegas is fifth at 38.
6.6
Vegas is first in the NHL in fewest penalty minutes per game at 6.6. The Golden Knights have been shorthanded 142 times, least in the league. Dallas has been shorthanded 185 times (20th).
He said it
"It usually comes down to one play or two plays a night, and it's right there. We do a lot of good things, and it just comes down to a little stretch here or there."
- Stars forward Joe Pavelski on the team's scoring troubles since Jan. 1 . Dallas averages 2.45 goals per game, which ranks 27th in the NHL.
Expected lineup
Robertson-Hintz-Pavelski
Benn-Johnston-Dellandrea
Marchment-Faksa-Seguin
Olofsson-Gurianov
Heiskanen-Miller
Lindell-Hakanpää
Suter-Lundkvist
Hanley
Oettinger
Wedgewood
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika.