I hate these next day games. So much to do, so little time! In an effort to cross poliate our SBN blogosphere, the ladies and gents from Defending Big D will be joining us for the first period gamethread and w those assembled will make their way over to Defending Big D for the second. Though when I first asked Stars blogging boss Brandon Worley what we should do for the game his initial response was "WAR!" So maybe we give them a little bit of that too.
The Stars last played on Friday night against the Colorado Avalanche. The Stars took them down 3-2 mostly thanks to Mike Modano who had a couple goals including the game winner. Alex Auld was solid for them in net and has been particularly strong at home as Defending Big D notes that he's 5-0-1 at American Airlines Center.
Of course the Coyotes won last night over the New York Rangers in a game that was a little too exciting down the stretch. Jason LaBarbera was solid for pretty much the entire game and only came up short when the team in front of him allowed odd man rushes. Phoenix has now won 3 in a row after being up and down every night for a spell there.
The Phoenix Coyotes twitter account just updated that Robert Lang and Anders Ericsson are the likely scratches for the Coyotes meaning Mikkel Boedker stays in and Peter Muller returns to the lineup.
Tonight's Goaltenders
Jason LaBarbera got the start last night so that Ilya Bryzgalov could be fresh for this one. Bryz has returned to form lately allowing less rebounds and controlling the puck much more efficiently.
Auld has played fairly well behind a Dallas team that hasn't done all that well defensively allowing 3.01 Goals per game for 25th in the NHL. His Save percentage isn't all that impressive, but he's managed to win when the Stars have called on him.
Key Players
The youngster got a goal in his first game back with the big club last night. He's been playing pretty well in the AHL, but is hungry to stay in the big league. If the Coyotes can stay out of the penalty box he'll get a chance to show that he can stick.
If the Stars are going to break out of the bubble and really get into the playoff race it'll be in large part to the verteran presence of guys like Mike Modano. He picks up the team when he needs to like he did against Colorado and is a great leader on the Dallas squad.