The Dallas Stars will aim to extend their franchise-best win streak and maintain a grip on home-ice advantage in the Western Conference playoffs when they visit the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday.
Battling with Central Division stalwarts Colorado and Winnipeg throughout the season, the Stars (48-19-9, 105 points) have taken off during the stretch run.
Dallas enters on an eight-game winning streak. Goaltender Jake Oettinger boasts six victories during the tear and is coming off consecutive shutouts of Seattle and Edmonton on Saturday and Wednesday, respectively.
“There’s been a lot of great teams in this organization over the years, so to have the longest win streak is pretty cool,” Oettinger said. “And hopefully we can grow that as much as we can.”
A 5-0 victory against Edmonton was the most lopsided outcome during the run. The Stars have outscored foes 34-11 during the streak, showing an ability to strike at nearly any time.
That reality was driven home when Dallas erupted for four goals during a 5:48 stretch in the second period against the Oilers.
That followed the first goal of the night just 2:08 into the game as Radek Faksa finished an odd-man rush for Dallas.
“First shift, first goal,” Faksa said. “You play with more confidence then. If you score first shift, you feel good about yourself the rest of the game.”
Saturday begins a stretch in which Chicago (22-48-5, 49 points) will play four of its next five games at the United Center, including back-to-back matinees this weekend.
The Blackhawks are set to host the Minnesota Wild on Sunday afternoon.
While it may seem unlikely that fans would see goaltender Petr Mrazek in both games, the veteran insists he’d be up to the task.
Mrazek matched a career best Tuesday when he started his 49th game of the season, a 2-1 loss to the host New York Islanders. The 32-year-old Mrazek, in his 12th NHL season, is two appearances shy from tying his career high in that category (54).
“Sometimes people say goalies grow with age and they’re better when they’re older,” Mrazek said. “Hopefully that’s the case and I’ve got that many games or more the next couple of years, as well. My body has been feeling great. There’s nothing to complain about. The way I approach things and the way I do things, I feel like I could play every night, so that’s the fun part.”
Blackhawks rookie leading scorer Connor Bedard feels Mrazek has “been our MVP.” Still, an up-and-down attack has kept his contributions from shining even brighter.
As with the Blackhawks overall, Mrazek has struggled against the Stars this season, compiling an 0-2-1 record with a 4.65 goals-against average and .863 save percentage in three games. Backup Arvid Soderblom relieved Mrazek in the third period of an 8-1 road loss on Dec. 31.
Dallas has won all three meetings with Chicago this season, including one in overtime.
