BUFFALO, N.Y. -- If there was ever a time for the Stars to find their way, it's now.
Kicking off a crucial four-game road trip out East, the Stars open their first of two separate back-to-backs Thursday night against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center. Dallas is looking to snap a three-game losing streak and claw its way back into the playoff race in the tightly contested Western Conference.
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Thursday opens a stretch of four games in six days for the Stars, who will take on the Detroit Red Wings Friday before closing out their trip with games Monday in Philadelphia and Tuesday in New Jersey.
After a disappointing loss Tuesday at home against Montreal, the Stars must find a way to string together victories, especially on the road where they've gone just 4-12-1.
They've found success at KeyBank Center of the years, at least in terms of coming away with points. The Stars have earned points in five of their past eight games (4-3-1) and have won two of the previous three visits to Buffalo. Tyler Seguin, who on Tuesday potted his 10th goal of the season, has 13 points (five goals, eight assists) over his past 14 games against the Sabres and leads all active Stars with 11 goals and 25 points in a team-high 29 games against the Sabres. Meanwhile, Joe Pavelski has three goals and four points in his past five appearances at KeyBank Center.
If Braden Holtby gets the start, the veteran netminder brings with him a 10-4-2 record, 2.44 goals-against average and .916 save percentage in 16 career appearances against the Sabres.
Buffalo enters Thursday's action with a 12-20-7 record overall, including a 6-11-3 mark at home. They're coming off a 3-1 victory in Ottawa on Tuesday but have dropped eight consecutive games at KeyBank Center.
Jeff Skinner leads the Sabres in scoring with 14 goals and co-leads the team in points (24) with Tage Thompson. Skinner has three points in his past two games (one goal, two assists) and five points (three goals, two assists) in his past five. The 29-year-old forward is having his best season offensively in three years and has matched his goal output from the 2019-20 campaign in 22 fewer games.
Buffalo's goaltending carousel is a sight to behold. The Sabres have used six different goalies already this season, including Dustin Tokarski, Aaron Dell, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Craig Anderson, Malcolm Subban and Michael Houser. Of those six, Tokarski has appeared in the most games (14) but hasn't played since Nov. 29. The Sabres signed Houser to a one-year contract on Jan. 12 to shore up their goaltending situation after putting Luukkonen and Subban on injured reserve, and the 29-year-old netminder backstopped the club with a 43-save effort Tuesday in Ottawa.
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.
