NHL Preview: Dallas Stars at Florida Panthers

DALLAS STARS NOTES:

LAST DALLAS STARS GAME
Nov. 15, 2022 – STARS 5 @ LIGHTNING 4
A shorthanded game-tying goal from forward Radek Faksa (1-0—1) with under five minutes remaining in regulation helped the Stars earn a point in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena on Tuesday. The goal, Faksa’s first of the season, gave Dallas its fourth shorthanded marker of the season, tied for the most in the league (also Vegas and Chicago). The Stars also got multipoint performances from forwards Jason Robertson (1-1—2) and Joe Pavelski (1-1—2) and defenseman Miro Heiskanen (0-2—2). Forward Mason Marchment (1-0—1) snapped a six-game goal drought, while captain Jamie Benn (0-1—1) and forward Roope Hintz (0-1—1) added assists. Netminder Jake Oettinger made 33 saves on 38 shots in his first overtime defeat of the season (6-2-1).
PP: 2-2 | PK: 4-5 | SF: 32 | SA: 38 | DAL TOI: Heiskanen (28:19 – game high) | Attendance: 19,092
Three Stars: 1. TBL– A. Killorn 2. TBL – I. Cole 3. TBL – N. Paul

UPCOMING GAME SCHEDULE
Date Opponent Time (CT) Location TV/Radio
Thu., Nov. 17, 2022 @ Florida Panthers 6 p.m. FLA Live Arena BSSW/KTCK
Sat., Nov. 19, 2022 New York Islanders 7 p.m. American Airlines Center BSSW/KTCK
Mon., Nov. 21, 2022 Colorado Avalanche 7:30 p.m. American Airlines Center BSSW/KTCK
Wed., Nov. 23, 2022 Chicago Blackhawks 7:30 p.m. American Airlines Center BSSWX/KTCK
Fri., Nov. 25, 2022 Winnipeg Jets 7:30 p.m. American Airlines Center BSSW/KTCK

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Nov. 9 – Recalled forward Matej Blumel from Texas (AHL); loaned goaltender Matt Murray to Texas

INJURIES
Man-games lost, 2022-23: 10
NAME INJURY # OF GAMES DATES
D Miro Heiskanen Upper body 3 Oct. 25-29
G Jake Oettinger Lower body 4 Nov. 1-8
F Denis Gurianov Upper body 3 Nov. 11-pres.

DALLAS STARS NOTES
TONIGHT’S GAME: The Stars wrap up their three-game road trip on Thursday evening against the Florida Panthers at FLA Live Arena (6 p.m. CT, TV: Bally Sports Southwest, Radio: The Ticket 96.7-FM/1310-AM). This is one of two games against the Panthers and the only visit to Sunrise during the regular season. These clubs will meet once more Jan. 8, 2023 at American Airlines Center. Following tonight’s contest, the Stars will return to Big D to open a four-game homestand beginning Saturday when they host the New York Islanders on Hockey Fights Cancer Night at American Airlines Center.

DRESSED TO KILL

• The Stars enter Thursday’s game with the third-best penalty killing percentage in the NHL (84.9%) and co-lead the NHL with four shorthanded goals in the 2022-23 season (also Vegas and Chicago).
• Despite leading the league in total shorthanded time on ice (110:48), the Stars have given up the sixth-fewest goals while on the PK (10).
• It took just 16 games for the Stars to score their fourth shorthanded goal this season. In comparison, it took them 50 games in 2021-22 to reach that mark, 42 GP in 2019-20 and 33 GP in 2018-19. (Dallas has three shorthanded goals in a shortened 56-game 2020-21 campaign).
• The Stars are 3-0-1 (7 points) in games in which they’ve recorded a shorthanded goal (Oct. 15 vs. Nashville, Oct. 27 vs. Washington, Nov. 13 at Philadelphia and Nov. 15 at Tampa Bay).

IT’S BEEN A LONG TIME, VERY LONG TIME SINCE I’VE HEARD YOUR VOICE

• The Stars and Panthers split the two-game set last season, with Dallas earning a wild 6-5 shootout victory at home on Jan. 6 and Florida coming away with a one-sided 7-1 triumph eight days later at FLA Live Arena.
• Dallas enters Thursday’s matchup with points in four of its past five (2-1-2) against Florida and five of the past seven (2-2-3). – The Stars have also recorded points in seven of their previous 11 road games at Florida (5-4-2) and in 10 of the past 15 trips to Sunrise (7-5-3).
• Dallas holds a 21-17-10 all-time mark vs. Florida, including a 12-9-4 mark on the road.
• Captain Jamie Benn has five points (2-3—5) in his past five games against the Panthers and leads active Stars in goals (15) in 26 career games vs. Florida.
• Forward Joe Pavelski has five points (2-3—5) in his past five games overall against Florida. He also has nine points (4-5—9) in his past 10 contests at FLA Live Arena.
• Pavelski has 13 points (6-7—13) in 14 career road games in Sunrise and 24 points (9-15—24) in 27 career contests against the Panthers.
• Forward Tyler Seguin has points (6-6—12) in six of his past seven games vs. Florida overall. Seguin also has 15 points (8-7—15) in his past nine road games against them.
• Seguin, who has amassed 21 points (8-13—21) over his past 12 games vs. Florida dating to the 2015-16 season, leads current Stars in assists (21) and points (9-21—30) in 26 career games vs. Florida.
• Forward Roope Hintz has been held off the scoresheet just twice in nine career games against the Panthers (1-7—8). He scored his lone goal in the most recent game on Jan. 14 at Florida.
• Forward Jason Robertson enters tonight’s game with eight points (6-2—8) in his past six games against the Panthers and has nine points (6-3—9) in 10 career games against them.
• Forward Mason Marchment spent two seasons with the Panthers (2020-22), registering 20 goals and 57 points (20-37—57) in 87 regular-season games. He added three goals (3-0—3) in 10 postseason contests with them.
• Goaltender Jake Oettinger is 0-3-1 with a 3.57 goals-against average and .892 save percentage in four career appearances vs. Florida.
• Netminder Scott Wedgewood is 0-1-0 with a 3.17 GAA and .870 SV% in his lone appearance against the Panthers

2022-23 REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE
Nov. 17 at Florida
Jan. 8, 2023 vs. Florida

• The beat goes on for forwards Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz, as both players pushed their respective point streaks to nine consecutive games during Tuesday’s matchup vs. Tampa Bay.
• Robertson (9-9—18 in 9 GP) and Hintz (4-9—13 in 9 GP) are the first pair of Stars teammates to each post simultaneous nine-game point streaks since Mike Ribeiro and Loui Eriksson (9 GP Dec. 29, 2010 – Jan. 17, 2011).
• The last Stars player with a double-digit point streak was Patrick Sharp in 2015-16 (12 GP).
• Robertson’s nine-game run matches the longest run of his career he first established in 2020-21 (April 13-27, 2021). The last Stars player other than Robertson to have a run of at least that length was Alexander Radulov (2x: 9 GP in 2017-18).
• Only two players in the NHL have more points than Robertson (11-14—25) this season: Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl – Robertson has goals in eight of his nine games on his current point streak and set a personal best with 10 shots on goal Nov. 5 at Edmonton (1-2-3).
• Since Nov. 1, Robertson has tallied 15 points (7-8—15) through seven games, the most in the NHL over that span (as of Nov. 16).
• He had goals in six consecutive games from Oct. 27-Nov. 8, becoming the fifth player in franchise history (1967-present) to have a goal streak of six games or more before turning 24, and the second player in Dallas Stars history (1993-present) to do so. Robertson followed Neal Broten from Jan. 23-Feb. 4, 1982 (7-12—19 in 7 GP), Jamie Benn from March 1-11, 2011 (6-1—7 in 6 GP), Mike Modano from Feb. 29-March 10, 1992 (7-2—9 in 6 GP) and Danny Grant from Oct. 16-29, 1969 (6-1—7 in 6 GP).
• Since entering the league in 2019-20, Robertson has recorded nine career three-point outings. Only two Stars players have more over that span: Joe Pavelski (14) and Roope Hintz (11).
• The Arcadia, California native is averaging better than a point-per-game pace through his four NHL seasons (69-81—150 in 144 GP).

Robertson’s past nine games:
Nov. 15 @ TBL: 1-1—2
Nov. 13 @ PHI: 1-1—2
Nov. 11 vs. SJS: 0-2—2
Nov. 8 @ WPG: 1-0—1
Nov. 5 @ EDM: 1-2—3
Nov. 3 @ ARI: 2-0—2
Nov. 1 vs. LA: 1-2—3
Oct. 29 vs. NYR: 1-1—2
Oct. 27 vs. WSH: 1-0—1
Total points: 9-9—18

• Hintz has 13 points (4-9—13) over his nine-game point streak, including three consecutive multi-point contests (Nov. 1-5).
• Hintz’ nine-game run is the longest of his career, surpassing his previous best of seven consecutive games (twice: April 8-22, 2021 & March 18-April 1, 2021).
• Through 16 games this season, Hintz co-leads the Stars in assists (14), ranks second in points (6-14—20) and shares third in goals (6). He also ranks third in power-play points (1-6—7) and is one of four players on the Stars to have shorthanded goals this season (also Radek Faksa, Luke Glendening and Joel Kiviranta).
• The Tampere, Finland native also ranks second on the club in points per game (1.25) and ranks second on the club with a +10 rating.
• Since Nov. 1, Hintz has earned 11 points (3-8—11) in seven games, sharing ninth in the NHL over that span (as of Nov. 16).

FLORIDA PANTHERS NOTES:

BAPTIST HEALTH INJURY REPORT

• F Anthony Duclair | Games Missed: 16
  Total Man Games Lost Due to Injury: 36

LAST GAME
Panthers 5, Capitals 2 – Nov. 15 – FLA Live Arena
FLA Goals: Barkov (4), Reinhart (3-PPG), Cousins (2), Verhaeghe (9, 10)
WSH Goals: Strome (5), Carlson (3)
FLA Goalie: Bobrovsky (W) – 41 Saves
WSH Goalie: Kuemper (L) – 38 Saves
FLA Shots: 43
WSH Shots: 43
Notes: Matthew Tkachuk (0-3-3) and Aleksander Barkov (1-2-3) each recorded three points…Tkachuk’s first assist marked his 400th NHL point…Carter Verhaeghe registered his team-leading fourth multi-goal game of the season…Sergei Bobrovsky’s 41 saves were the most by a FLA goaltender this season…Paul Maurice served as a head coach in his 1,700th NHL game…Gustav Forsling notched an assist for the second consecutive game…FLA PP: 1-1, FLA PK: 5-5

RECENT TRANSACTIONS:

• Nov. 12: D Aaron Ekblad activated off LTIR | F Rudolfs Balcers claimed off waivers by TBL

PANTHERS vs. STARS
ALL-TIME vs. DAL: 24-19-3-2
ALL-TIME HOME vs. DAL: 12-11-1-1
2021-22 vs. DAL: 1-0-1

CATS STATS

• Tonight Sam Bennett is expected to skate in his 500th NHL game.

THANK YOU LU
During tonight’s game, former Panthers goaltender and current Special Advisor to the General Manager Roberto Luongo will be recognized following his induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto this past weekend. ‘Lu’ is the first player to enter the Hall of Fame who spent the majority of their career in South Florida, and he was the first player to have their number retired in franchise history. Luongo’s 489 career wins rank fourth-most all-time, will his 1,044 games played are second most behind only Martin Brodeur (1,266). The 19-season NHL veteran owns the most games played (572), wins (230), shutouts (38), saves (16,086), single-season games played (75, 2005-06), single-season saves (2,303, 2003-04) and single-season shutouts (tied – 7, 2003-04) in FLA history.

HOME SWEET HOME
The Cats own a 5-1-1 record at home this season. Florida’s .786 points percentage this season ranks third-best among NHL teams following games played Nov. 16. Over their seven home contests in 2022-23, the Panthers have averaged a league-leading 40.9 shots. Four Panthers are currently averaging at least a point per game on home ice in 2022-23: Matthew Tkachuk (2-8-10 in 6GP), Brandon Montour (1-8-9), Aleksander Barkov (3-6-9) and Carter Verhaeghe (6-2-8), while 13 Cats have recorded a positive plus-minus rating at FLA Live Arena this season led by Gustav Forsling (+10).

CATS AND STARS
Florida owns a 6-1-1 record over their past eight matchups against Dallas, as well as a 5-1-0 record in the Stars’ past six visits to FLA Live Arena. In their most recent visit on Jan. 14, Florida tallied seven goals en route to a 7-1 victory behind a four-point (3-1-4) outing from Sam Bennett and 29 saves (.967 SV%) from Sergei Bobrovsky.

POWER UP
The Panthers have scored a power-play goal in each of their past four games, posting a 38.5% success rate [5/13] since Nov. 6. Over that span they have killed off 93.3% of opponent power plays [14/15]. The Cats have tallied eight PPGs over their past nine contests for a 27.6% [8/29] rate since Oct. 27.

FINISHING STRONG
Florida’s 25 goals in the third period rank second among NHL teams following games played Nov. 16. Sam Bennett and Carter Verhaeghe each lead the team with four third-period tallies.

EARLY AND OFTEN
The Panthers have scored the first goal of the game in 11 of their 16 contests this season, trailing only Dallas (13) for the most among NHL clubs. Florida owns an 8-3-0 record when scoring first in 2022-23.

CHUCKIE’S CHEESE
Matthew Tkachuk produced his second three-assist performance of the season Nov. 15 vs. WSH. He has posted three three-point outings in 2022-23, tied with Brandon Montour for the most on the team. Tkachuk led Florida with a plus-four rating against Washington, the second time this season he has posted a plus-four. His first assist in the game marked his 400th NHL point. Per NHL stats, Tkachuk is the second player from the NHL Draft to reach the mark, joining fellow American Auston Matthews (266-206—472 in 423 GP). He required the fourth-fewest games to reach 400 points among active American-born NHLers. With his performance against the Capitals, Tkachuk reached the 20-point mark (5-15-20) in his 14th game with Florida, tied with Pavel Bure (15-5-20 in 14GP in 1998-99/1999-00) for the fewest required games to hit the mark with the club.

Fewest Games to Reach 400 Points, Active American-Born NHLers

1. Auston Matthews 372 Games
2. Johnny Gaudreau 409 Games
3. Patrick Kane 426 Games
4. Matthew Tkachuk 445 Games

BARKOV COUNTY
Panthers Captain Aleksander Barkov recorded three points (1-2-3), his second three-point game in 2022-23 (1-2-3, Oct. 29 vs. OTT). His 39 career three-point outings are second-most in franchise history. Barkov scored his team-leading third power-play goal of the season Nov. 9 vs. CAR. The tally marked his 65th career power-play goal, tying Olli Jokinen for second-most in franchise history. He trails only Scott Mellanby (66) for the all-time club record. He skated in his 600th NHL game Oct. 19 vs. PHI, becoming the fourth player in franchise history to skate in 600 games with the club. He is one game away from tying Radek Dvorak (613) for third-most games played in franchise history, and three even-strength goals away from surpassing Jonathan Huberdeau (150) for the most in Panthers history.

Most Power-Play Goals in Panthers History

1. Scott Mellanby 66
   T-2. Olli Jokinen 65
   T-2. Aleksander Barkov 65

EK’S GON’ GIVE IT TO YA
Aaron Ekblad has amassed 34 points (11-23-34) over his past 33 regular season games at FLA Live Arena, as well as a plus-27 rating. His 34 regular season home points are the most of any Panthers defenseman since the start of the 2021-22 campaign. The Windsor, Ontario native skated 23:43 Nov. 12 vs. Edmonton after missing 11 games with injury, and notched an assist Nov. 15 vs. Washington. Over five games this season, he has registered two points (1-1-2) and 13 shots. He is two goals away from being the first defenseman to tally 100 goals with Florida.

MR. CARTER
Forward Carter Verhaeghe recorded his team-leading fourth multi-goal game of the season Nov. 15 vs. WSH. His performance marked his 13th career multi-goal outing, and his 12th with Florida. He leads Florida with 10 goals this season, producing at a point-per-game pace with 16 (10-6-16) over 16 games in 2022-23. He posted a point in four straight games from Nov. 3-9 (4-3-7). Over his past eight games, Verhaeghe has amassed seven goals and 11 points (7-4-11). His six total multi-point games in 2022-23 are tied for the team lead with Tkachuk. The Toronto, Ontario native’s 13 even-strength points (9-4-13) are second-most on the club.

MONTOUR OF DUTY
Brandon Montour has produced eight points (1-7-8) over his past four games, and leads Florida blueliners with 16 points (4-12-16) over 14 games played. He notched three assists for the second consecutive game (1-3-4, Nov. 6 at ANA) Nov. 9 vs. CAR, assisting on each Florida goal. Montour’s seven points from Nov. 6-9 tied Bryan McCabe (1-6-7, March 3-6, 2010) for the most points in a two-game span by a Panthers defenseman in club history. His 15 total points through his first 12 games of a season set a new franchise record among defenseman, surpassing Keith Yandle’s 13 points (3-10-13) from Oct. 6-Nov. 8, 2018. His 16 points rank sixth-most among NHL blueliners following games played Nov. 15. Montour matched his career high with four points (1-3-4) Nov. 6 at ANA, also tying the franchise record for single-game points by a defenseman. He became the eighth blueliner in club history to post four points in a regular season game. Montour skated a career-high 30:41 total time on ice Nov. 3 at SJS. He leads Panthers blueliners in goals, assists, points and even-strength points (11) and he is tied for the club lead with five power-play points (2-3-5).

WHAT ABOUT BOB?
Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky stopped a season-high 41 shots for a .953 save percentage Nov. 15 vs. WSH. His 41 saves were his most since stopping 42 shots against Jan. 11 vs. VAN. Bobrovsky appeared in his 600th NHL game Nov. 5 at LAK, becoming the 53rd goaltender in league history to reach the mark. His 339 career wins are the most through a goaltender’s first 600 appearances in NHL history. He stopped 32 of the 33 NYI shots he faced in Florida’s season opener on Oct. 13, including all 27 at even strength and 16 in the first period. Bobrovsky tied for the league lead with a franchise-record 39 wins in 2021-22, including a club-record and league*leading 26 home wins.

BENNY AND THE CATS
Forward Sam Bennett scored two goals (2-0-2) Nov. 12 vs. Edmonton, which extended his goal/point streak to three games (4-1-5). His three-game goal streak tied Carter Verhaeghe (3 games, Nov. 3-6) for the longest by a Panthers skater this season. Bennett also led Florida with six shots on goal in the game. He leads Florida forwards with 43 hits, and he is tied with Aleksander Barkov for the second-most shots on goal on the club with 58. He has also registered four multi-point games this season, including in two of his past three outings.

‘HART OF GOLD
Forward Sam Reinhart scored his second power-play goal of the season Nov. 15 vs. WSH. He recorded his first two goals of the season Nov. 6 at ANA and led Florida with seven shots on goal in the game. He has produced four points (3-1-4) over his past five games. Reinhart has skated over 20 minutes in 10 of Florida’s 16 games this season, averaging 19:45 TOI per game in 2022-23. The West Vancouver, B.C. native scored the game-deciding goal in the shootout against James Reimer Nov. 3 at SJS.

JUST THE TWO OF GUS
Defenseman Gustav Forsling has notched an assist in each of his past two games. He logged a career-high seven shots on goal Nov. 1 at ARI. His 52 total shots this season are the most among Panthers blueliners and tied for sixth-most among NHL defensemen following games played Nov. 15. He has produced nine points (2-7-9) this season, with eight coming at even strength. Forsling notched an assist for the fourth consecutive game Oct. 21 vs. TBL, which extended his assist/point streak to four games (1-4-5), tied for the longest point streak of his career. His four-game assist streak was the longest of his career.

OH WHAT A KNIGHT
Goaltender Spencer Knight stopped all 40 Carolina shots he faced Nov. 9 vs. CAR to earn his third career shutout. At 21 years and 204 days of age, Knight became the fifth different NHL goaltender with a 40-save shutout before turning 22 (since 1955-56 when shots on goal were officially tracked). He joined Steve Mason (3x; last: April 9, 2010), Bill Ranford (3x; last: Feb. 21, 1987), Marc-Andre Fleury (Oct. 5, 2006) and Sean Burke (Oct. 10, 1988). Knight owns a 5-2-0 record in 2022-23, including a 3-1-0 record at FLA Live Arena. He owns a 13-4-0 record in 17 home appearances in his NHL career. He posted a .920 save percentage to earn his 25th career win in his 38th appearance Oct. 23 vs. NYI. Only four active goaltenders had reached the 25-win mark in fewer appearances: Frederik Andersen (33 GP), Jordan Binnington (35 GP), Matt Murray (36 GP) and Anton Khudobin (36 GP). It also marked the third-fewest appearances to reach the 25-win mark by an American-born goaltender in NHL history, behind Frank Bimsek (34 GP w/ BOS in 1938-39) and Jim Carey (37 GP w/ WSH from 1994-94 – 1995-96).

COL’ ME MAYBE
Forward Colin White notched his sixth assist of the season Nov. 12 vs. Edmonton. He has produced nine points (3-6-8) over 15 games with Florida this season, with all nine coming at even strength. White posted an assist in three consecutive games from Oct. 23-27 (0-3-3), marking the longest assist streak of his career and his third three-game point streak of 2022-23. He produced his first multi-point game with the Panthers Oct. 17 at BOS, logging two points (1-1-2). The Boston, Mass., native’s goal Oct. 15 at BUF marked his 100th NHL point.

THE BUTCHER
Defenseman Radko Gudas notched an assist Nov. 12 vs. Edmonton for his fifth point (1-4-5) of the season. He scored his first goal of the season Nov. 3 at SJS while logging six hits, the most of any skater in the game. He logged a personal season-high six shots on goal Oct. 29 vs. OTT. His 53 hits are the most on the Panthers this season. He skated 25:11 time on ice Oct. 21 vs. TBL, his highest TOI since skating 25:23 Nov. 28, 2015 at NYR. He registered his second assist of the season Oct. 19 vs. PHI, and tied for the team lead in plus-minus in the game with a plus-three rating. Gudas notched an assist and led all Florida skaters with five hits in Florida’s season opener Oct. 13 at NYI.

GOTTA GO TO MO’
Nov. 15 vs. WSH marked Paul Maurice’s 1,700th game as an NHL head coach, becoming the fourth in League history to reach the mark. He earned his 783rd win as an NHL head coach Nov. 9 vs. CAR, surpassing legendary bench boss Al Arbour for sixth-most in League history. He is one of three coaches to earn at least 300 wins with two different franchises.