'We're going to keep pushing': Stars stay focused on the task at hand

Stars (21-17-13, 55 points) vs. Panthers (34-14-5, 73 points)

The Stars' overtime loss to Nashville on Saturday has made things tough.
If the Predators go 2-2-0 in their final four games, the Stars need to go 4-1-0 in their final five to get in. If the Predators win three games, well then, the math gets really difficult.
Add to that the fact Dallas' next three games are against Florida and Tampa Bay, and the challenge is daunting. However, Stars head coach Rick Bowness said his team is simply focused on winning the next game.
"It's been difficult all the way through," Bowness said. "We keep preaching that if we battle hard, we give ourselves a chance to win every night. It's a little bit more of a challenge, but it doesn't mean it can't be done. We're very positive here and we're going to keep pushing the positive."

Dallas had an intense 1-0 game with Tampa Bay on Thursday that turned when the power play fumbled a puck in the third period, leading to a Lightning penalty shot and an eventual 3-0 win. The Stars and Nashville were scoreless through three periods on Saturday, and then Dallas took a penalty in overtime, and that helped lead to a 1-0 loss.
These have been scrappy performances, but just not good enough to win.
"We didn't like our first period in Tampa, but we battled hard after that," Bowness said. "I thought last game both teams battled hard."
Still, a loss is a loss. At a time when the Stars need wins, they've gone 0-2-1. Because of that, the odds of making the playoffs have gone down drastically.
Nevertheless, Bowness said the team can't think that way. "Maybe there's nobody in Vegas putting any money on us, but it doesn't matter. Other people's opinions don't mean anything to us. The only opinions that matter are the people in the locker room, and we're going to keep pushing."

What to watch

Energy still is a key buzzword for the Stars.
They aren't practicing at all, even on the morning of game days, and Bowness said they probably won't for the remainder of the season.
"With the five games remaining, I can't see the team skating again," he said. "Too tired, too beat up, and we're going to save as much energy for the games. That's just the reality of what we're dealing with."
Dallas had eight games postponed earlier in the season because of a COVID shutdown and a winter storm, and now the Stars have to make those games up in a condensed schedule. They've gone 11 weeks in which they've played four games in six nights. In their last game at Nashville, the Predators had three days off before Saturday's contest, while Dallas was completing a run of contests Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
"We had a great start," Bowness said of Saturday's game. "I think in the third period, their three days of rest before the game showed, but our guys kept battling."
Bowness said the taxi squad will continue to skate but that the regulars will stay off the ice to conserve energy. The team stayed overnight in Nashville Saturday and flew on Sunday because they didn't want to be arriving in Florida at two o'clock in the morning with the time change.
"We're trying to give them as much rest as we possibly can," Bowness said.

Lineup updates

Tweet from @DallasStars: .@tseguinofficial is a game-time decision tonight. 👀@PNCBank | #GoStars pic.twitter.com/0pz77yNOVv
Tyler Seguin is listed as a game-time decision.
The Stars' leading scorer last season has been out all year after offseason hip surgery. Seguin has been skating every day and is very close to returning, Bowness said. He was listed as "very, very questionable" last game, so this is an improvement.
Also game-time decisions for the Stars are forwards Denis Gurianov, Jason Dickinson and Roope Hintz.
Anton Khudobin will be in goal.

Numbers

5-2-0

The Panthers are 5-2-0 against the Stars this season. Dallas is 2-3-2 in those seven games, so the records are a bit confusing. However, Tampa Bay is 5-1-0 against Dallas and Carolina is 6-1-1, so the top three teams have dominated in picking up points against the Stars.

1.67

Florida is expected to start Spencer Knight in goal. The 20-year-old netminder is 3-0-0 so far in his NHL career with a 1.67 goals-against average and .943 save percentage. Knight was taken 13th overall in the 2019 NHL Draft.

152:15

That's the time since the Stars last scored a goal, a Jason Robertson unassisted tally in the second period against Carolina eight days ago. Robertson leads the Stars in scoring against the Panthers this season with four goals and two assists for six points in seven games.

He said it

"Home or away, we've been playing the same way game in, game out. We give ourselves a chance, and everyone is contributing on a game-to-game basis. I think we got wins in every building this year. All year long, it's been pretty consistent." -- Panthers coach Joel Quenneville after his team finished its road schedule at 17-9-2 with a 5-4 win at Chicago Saturday (Florida is 17-5-3 at home)
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This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heikais a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika, and listen to his podcast.