First Shift: Stars look to flex road muscles in huge Game 3 test at Vegas

The Stars have had the best road record in the NHL this year. Not only that, but also the best road record in franchise history.

They need that success now more than ever.

Dallas finished 26-10-5 away from home this year, setting franchise records for wins and points (57). They finished second in road scoring at 3.46 goals per game and third in goals against at 2.65. They had the second most successful power play at 26.4 percent and the sixth best penalty kill at 82.7 percent.

That’s impressive.

“We’ve been a great road team all year, so we’ve just got to go and do it,” said Stars coach Pete DeBoer. “The margins are razor thin. A big save, a big goal at the right time, the series can turn.”

Dallas is down 0-2 after losing the first two games at home. Statistically speaking, that is a really high mountain to climb, but because it has been so good away from home, the chance to come back and win in Vegas seems realistic.

“Now we need to prove it and back it up,” forward Joe Pavelski said of the number. “We’re in a position where we’ve got to go win Game 3 on the road against a good team that’s been playing well.”

The Golden Knights are the defending Stanley Cup champions. They went 16-6 in the playoffs last year. They have won nine of the past 11 meetings against Dallas.  They also have been great at home, where they are 27-12-2, good for seventh in the league. So far, they have done a great job of playing team defense and keeping the Stars off the board.

“We’ve been doing a good job of eliminating time and space,” Knights defenseman Alec Martinez said. “I think the forwards have done a really good job of applying that back pressure, and their back checking allows us to feel comfortable to stay up . . . When you have pressure from behind and ahead of you, it tends to squeeze players out of the neutral zone and forces them to make decisions either they don’t want to make or make the decision a little bit earlier than they want.”

Defenseman Noah Hanifin said Vegas feels confident up 2-0, but knows what to expect from Dallas.

"We're in a good spot, but there's still a lot of hockey left to be played," Hanifin said. "We're happy to get back into our building and have that momentum on our side . . . Just got to keep doing what we're doing, chipping away at it and play our game."

So the onus is on the Stars to force some changes. Dallas might not have any choice as both Mason Marchment and Radek Faksa left Game 2 with injuries and have not practiced the past two days.

“Both are progressing, so I’m optimistic,” DeBoer said. “I’d call them both day to day.”

Dallas called up Mavrik Bourque, who led the AHL in scoring this season on his way to winning AHL MVP. He did not practice Friday and the Stars also sat out Tyler Seguin and switched the lines up.

“I wouldn’t read too much into that,” DeBoer said. “We had some guys skate earlier and some guys are obviously question marks. We were just throwing some things around this morning.”

So, now would be the perfect time to flex some of those road muscles.

“In any road game, you’re definitely simplifying,” said Seguin. “We’ve prided ourselves all year on how we respond, how we don’t lose many games in a row, so we’ll start with one.”

Because should the Stars win, then they can start putting the pressure back on Vegas.

“I think we’re a confident group,” said DeBoer. “We’re obviously not in a great spot, but we’re a veteran group and we understand that if we win one game, things change . Pressure points change, attitudes change, so that’s our focus.”

Key Numbers

.912
Stars goalie Jake Oettinger was 17-8-2 at home with a 2.78 GAA and .898 save percentage this season. He was 18-6-2 on the road with a 2.62 GAA and .912 save percentage.

77
The Stars recalled forward Mavrik Bourque on Friday and could play him in Game 3. Bourque led the AHL in scoring with 77 points (26 goals, 51 assists) in 71 games. He has 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) in two AHL playoff games.

53.1 percent
Dallas has won 53.1 percent of the faceoffs in Games 1 and 2. Tyler Seguin leads the way with 59.1 percent on 22 draws.

He Said It

“We do have some depth there. I think it’s good-checking, fourth line depth. I’m not sure if it's top six, scoring depth. But it’s definitely NHL depth, which is good.”

- Stars coach Pete DeBoer on the fact that both Craig Smith and Ty Dellandrea are available to jump in if the Stars are without any injured forwards

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika.