NHL Grind Down: Friday, January 15th - Page Two
Dallas Stars at Anaheim Ducks – 10:00 PM EST
| Dallas Stars | Anaheim Ducks | ||||||||
 | Kari Lehtonen |  | Frederik Andersen | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 29-11-4 | 18-17-7 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.34 | 2.59 | 22.50% | 81.30% | Team Stats | 1.90 | 2.33 | 19.60% | 89.80% |
The Stars have cooled off drastically lately, and with the Chicago Blackhawks suddenly rocketing towards them at the top of the Central Division, they should be hungry to get things turned around quickly. They’ve lost four of five games since the calendar turned to 2016 and the timing for a three game tour of California really couldn’t come at a much worse time for this team. Dallas is still the fastest paced team in the NHL this season and they’ll certainly be looking to push the tempo as much as possible against the Ducks tonight. The top line of Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Patrick Sharp is arguably the most dangerous trio in the NHL this season and they’re each fine plays despite being cooled off a bit lately. Jason Spezza is often overlooked on the second line, but he’s been leading the way offensively lately with a goal and eight assists in the last seven games. John Klingberg is the top option on the Dallas blue-line and he lit the lamp against the Ducks in their only previous meeting this season. However, with much of his value coming as the point man on the #1 power-play unit, this may not be the time to spend up for him against the NHL’s best penalty kill.
It’s been a very disappointing season for the Anaheim Ducks thus far, but they picked up a 4-1 against Ottawa on Wednesday and finally look to be gaining some momentum as they’ve posted a 6-2-1 since the Christmas break. While the Ottawa victory was well needed, it wasn’t without headlines as Bruce Boudreau benched his captain Ryan Getzlaf for nearly half of a period after an inexplicable mistake cost the Ducks a goal. The Ducks (and Getzlaf) responded to Boudreau’s message with a very strong third period and it’s possible that the benching was just the spark this team needed to get rolling offensively. They may be the lowest scoring team in the NHL this season, but they’ll benefit from the heightened pace Dallas brings to the Pond and this team does not lack offensive weapons. Corey Perry and Getzlaf have been the most consistent scoring options and are joined by Rickard Rakell on the top line, but we’re finally starting to see Ryan Kesler get this going with Carl Hagelin and Jakob Silfverberg on the second line. The Cam Fowler injury has created plenty of value to be found on the Ducks blue-line. Both Hampus Lindholm and Sami Vatanen are known commodities and look like solid cash game options on defense and former first-round pick Shea Theodore finally scored his first NHL goal last night and is dirt cheap on several sites. Theodore sees plenty of run on the point of the #1 power-play unit and was named the Defenseman of the Year in the WHL last season.
Elite Options
DAL: Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, Jason Spezza
ANA: Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Sami Vatanen
Secondary Options
DAL: Patrick Sharp, Cody Eakin, Valeri Nichushkin, John Klingberg
ANA: Ryan Kesler, Carl Hagelin, Rickard Rakell, Jakob Silfverberg, Shea Theodore, Hampus Lindholm