Still just a stone's throw from a playoff spot with 32 games remaining, the Stars open a crucial back-to-back Wednesday against the Winnipeg Jets at American Airlines Center. It's an earlier start time than normal (6:30 p.m. CT), so keep that in mind if you're heading to the arena.
The Stars remain three points behind the LA Kings for the second wild card and hold a four-point edge on the Jets, so a regulation win on Wednesday would be big. It would also do the Stars a lot of good to open this back-to-back with a win considering they have to travel to Nashville to face the Predators on Thursday. Nashville is coming off a comeback victory over Florida on Tuesday and sit in the first wild card with 62 points, six more than Dallas. At this stage of the game, the Stars can't afford to drop consecutive contests.
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Home is where the Stars have been at their best. They enter Wednesday's matchup against the Jets with a 17-7-1 record at American Airlines Center this season, including a 4-3 overtime victory vs. Winnipeg on Feb. 11. The Stars have won five consecutive home games against the Jets and have been perfect on the penalty kill, going 15 for 15 over that span.
Leading the way against Winnipeg is captain Jamie Benn, who has points in three consecutive games against them and in six of his past eight. In 36 career head-to-head meetings, Benn has posted 36 points (17 goals, 19 assists). Eight of his 16 goals have come on the power play, his second highest total against any individual opponent.
This is the second game of a four-game road trip for the Jets, who opened it on Monday with a 3-1 loss in Calgary. From here, they'll face Colorado on Friday and Arizona on Sunday. The Jets have dropped two in a row and have gone 3-3 since their visit to AAC two weeks ago. Trailing the Kings by seven points, the Jets are right on the edge of must-win territory.
