DALLAS -- Riding a four-game winning streak with all four victories on the road, the Stars return to American Airlines Center for an extended stint of home cooking.
Friday night will be a momentous evening for the Stars and their fans, as the franchise will retire Sergei Zubov's No. 56 in honor of the Hall-of-Fame defenseman prior to the game against the Washington Capitals.
A
full schedule of events
leading up to the ceremony is planned starting at 5:15 p.m. with a FOREVER56 Green Carpet Show presented by PNC Bank. Fans are encouraged to be in their seats by 6 p.m. sharp for the start of the ceremony.
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With a 22-16-2 record (46 points) through 40 games, the Stars enter Friday's matchup with the seventh best winning percentage in the Western Conference (.575). The Stars rebounded from a three-game losing streak with four straight wins on the road over Buffalo, Detroit, Philadelphia and New Jersey, and now have a great opportunity to gain ground in the playoff race. Nine of their next 11 games are against Western Conference opponents, including eight against Central Division foes.
The Stars come into Friday's contest with wins in five of their past six games at American Airlines Center (5-1-0). Dallas owns a 14-4-1 record on home ice and currently ranks eighth in the NHL with a .763 points percentage at home this season. The club also ranks fourth in the NHL with a 28.8% (17-for-59) home power-play percentage. Jason Robertson has points in each of his past 11 home games (six goals, 11 assists) and ranks tied for second on the team in points at home (23) and tied for first in assists (15).
Speaking of Robertson, the 22-year-old forward enters Friday's game riding a four-game point streak (three goals, four assists) and has points in 12 of his past 13 appearances (eight goals, 11 assists). Robertson ranks second on the Stars in assists (23) and points (39) this season and ranks third in goals (16).
With four points (two goals, two assists) on Tuesday in New Jersey, Joe Pavelski comes in with points in six consecutive games (four goals, nine assists). The 37-year-old forward has logged three 4-plus point games this season, all of which have come over the past 13 games. Pavelski currently ranks tied for 10th in the NHL in points (48) and 16th in assists (29) this season, pacing the team in both categories. He's also tied with Roope Hintz for the team lead in goals (19) and ranks tied for 12th in the league with a team-high seven power-play tallies.
The Capitals have lost two in a row and three of their past four. They went 1-2 on their recent three-game homestand with consecutive losses to Vegas and San Jose. They've gone 3-6-1 over their past 10 games but still sport a 23-12-9 record overall, including an 11-5-4 mark on the road.
It just so happens that on the night the Stars are retiring Zubov's No. 56, Alex Ovechkin (619) needs one assist to pass the Hall-of-Fame defenseman for the third-most assists by a Russian in NHL history. Ovechkin and Zubov only trail Sergei Fedorov (696) and Evgeni Malkin (682) on the all-time list.
Ovechkin enters the game ranked third in the NHL in points (58) and second in goals (29). The 36-year-old forward is on pace for 108 points this season, which would be a first for a player 36 years of age or older in NHL history.
Great seats are still available for tonight's game against the Washington Capitals! 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.
