2425 GDG 1.16 vs MTL
Dallas Stars
Montréal Canadiens
Record
28-14-1 (16-5-1 Home)
21-18-4 (10-11-1 Away)
Rank
57 Points (3rd in Central)
46 Points (6th in Atlantic)
Power Play
17.9% (24-for-134)
21.4% (28-for-131)
Penalty Kill
85.2% (98-for-115)
82.0% (123-for-150)
Last 10 Games
8-1-1
7-2-1

Five Points 5️⃣

  • The Dallas Stars face the Montréal Canadiens Thursday night for second and final time this season. Entering Thursday's match, the Stars are 28-14-1 while the Canadiens are 21-18-4. The last time the two teams faced off on Jan. 11 in Montréal, Dallas earned a 2-1 shootout win.
  • Dallas is 43-77-24 all-time vs. Montréal, including a 24-34-14 mark on home ice.
  • The Stars have earned points in eight of their last 10 games against the Canadiens, owning a 7-2-1 record dating back to Dec. 31, 2018. Dallas has outscored Montréal 33-26 during that span.
  • Captain Jamie Benn enters Thursday's matchup having totaled eight points (3-5—8) in his last six games against Montréal. He has tallied points in his last two consecutive home games vs. Montréal (1-1—2). Benn also has the third-most points among active Stars against the Canadiens with 21 (10-11—21) in 22 games.
  • Among active Stars, forward Matt Duchene is second in points (7-15—22) in 26 career games vs. the Canadiens. He enters Thursday’s game registering five points (1-4—5) in his last five games played against Montréal.

Stats Against Opponent ✍

Active Streaks
Leading Scorers
Mason Marchment (0-4—4, 2 GP)
Tyler Seguin (15-16—31, 35 GP)
Matt Duchene (7-15—22, 26 GP)
Jamie Benn (10-11—21, 22 GP)
Evgenii Dadanov (3-7—10, 27 GP)

Players To Watch 👀

Stars forward Logan Stankoven has four points (2-2—4) in his last two games, which includes his second three-point outing of the season (last: Oct. 10 at Nashville) after tallying three points (2-1—3) in Dallas' last game against Toronto. Stankoven now has 23 points (6-17—23) on the season, which ranks fourth among all NHL rookies in scoring this season entering play Wednesday and puts him on pace to finish the year with 45 points. If Stankoven were to earn a point on Thursday, he would be riding a three-game point streak which would tie a career-high (Oct. 24 - Nov. 1).

Canadiens forward Cole Caufield has nine points (6-3—9) in his last seven games, dating back to Dec. 31 at Vegas. Caufield leads Montréal in goals (24) and is second in points (42). He has tallied 12 multi-point efforts across 43 games this season and three in his last five games. In his career against Dallas, Caufield has registered four points (2-2—4) in six games.

First Shift 🏒

Thursday is a “trap” game for the Stars.

But it does come with a couple of warning alarms.

Dallas is coming off a five-game road trip in which it went 4-1-0, is playing a non-rival in the Montréal Canadiens, and is home for just one game before heading to Colorado for a massive Saturday tilt against a divisional rival. This one has “scheduled loss” written all over it.

But the great thing for the Stars is they just played in Montréal last week, they are familiar with this opponent, and they know just how much focus will be needed. Plus, forward Roope Hintz left last game with an upper body injury, and if he can’t play on Thursday, then several players will get the opportunity to step up and play bigger roles.

“It’s just next man up mentality,” said Stankoven, who had two goals and an assist in a 4-1 win in Toronto on Tuesday. “Everyone kind of buys into the system and the structure, and when you play with details, that’s the biggest thing.”

Dallas already is missing Seguin (hip surgery) and Marchment (facial fracture), so losing Hintz would be significant. The trio are among the team’s best offensive players, and Dallas has had trouble scoring goals at different points this season. That said, they are on an 8-1-1 run since Christmas in which they have outscored opponents, 34-20.

A big part of that run is the fact that the scoring has picked up. Heading into Dec. 29, Dallas was averaging 3.17 goals per game. Since then, they are at 3.56. The power play was connecting on 15.4 percent of its chances. During the run, it is at 25.9 percent.

That resurgence has been led by Jason Robertson, who has 13 points (4 goals, 7 assists) in 10 games. Duchene has 11 points (4 goals, 7 assists), while Wyatt Johnston has 9 (3 goals, 6 assists). Benn and Dadonov each have 8 points, while Thomas Harley has 7.

Meanwhile, the goals against average has improved to third best in the league at 2.44, and the penalty kill leads the NHL at 85.2 percent.

All of that puts Dallas in a good place if it has to play without Hintz for any amount of time. Stars coach Pete DeBoer said the team has to get some power plays goals, get some depth goals and defend well. That should be doable, because the Stars have been doing it in recent weeks.

Duchene was talking about Stankoven when he said a Hintz injury could open the door for more chances, but he could have been talking about a bunch of different forwards.

“If Roope’s out for a bit, he’s going to have an elevated role, and we want him feeling good,” Duchene said. “It doesn’t matter how you get them, you feel better when you make plays, you’re looser, there’s a lot of good stuff with that.”

As tiring as the five-game road trip was, things don’t get any easier. Dallas hosts Montréal on Thursday and then goes to Colorado for a day game on Saturday. They are back at AAC to face the red-hot Red Wings on Sunday and follow that with home games against Cup contenders Carolina and Vegas after that. But if they handle this well now, it could set them up for success when the injured players start coming back.

“We’re built to have four lines and just roll,” said Duchene. “I think right now, we’re not that way because we have injuries. But that gives these young guys an opportunity. And I think them playing together because we switched the lines up, they’re coming, you can see it. And we need it.”

Key Numbers 🔢

7-2-1

Dallas is 7-2-1 in its past 10 games against Montréal, including a 2-1 shootout win last weekend.

6

Esa Lindell had a game-high six blocked shots in a 2-1 win over Montréal last week. He leads the Stars with 84 blocked shots.

Plus-22

Stars defenseman Harley ranks sixth in the league in plus-minus at plus-22.

He Said It 📢

“I don’t know if the secret was that we both split a poutine on Sunday night and then we got two greasy goals tonight, so maybe that’s the secret.”

-Stars forward Mavrik Bourque on the fact he and good friend Stankoven had the Canadian delicacy of poutine and then combined for three goals on Tuesday in Toronto

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 X @MikeHeika.

Upcoming Games 📅

Opponent
Date
Time
Location
Stream
Colorado Avalanche
January 18
3:00 PM CT
Ball Arena
January 19
7:00 PM CT
American Airlines Center
January 21
7:00 PM CT
American Airlines Center

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