StarGazing - February 26th vs. Vancouver Canucks

SUNDAY’S GAME:
Dallas Stars (32-26-4, 68 points – 8th, Western Conference)
vs. Vancouver Canucks (40-16-6, 86 points –  1st, Western Conference)
2 p.m. CT at American Airlines Center

BROADCAST INFO:
FOX Sports Southwest and Sports Radio 1310 The Ticket

ALL-TIME SERIES RESULTS vs. VANCOUVER CANUCKS:
Overall: 77-64-25
Home: 44-27-12
Road: 33-37-13
This Season: 0-0-0
2/26/12 – vs. Vancouver
3/6/12 – at Vancouver
3/22/12 – vs. Vancouver
3/30/12 – at Vancouver

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH:

1. The Dallas Stars and Vancouver Canucks meet for the first time this season on Sunday afternoon. Dallas went 0-4-0 against Vancouver last season and have lost six consecutive games to them.

2. The Stars enter Sunday’s contest riding a three-game winning streak (MTL, CHI, MIN). In that three game span, Dallas has outscored the opposition 10-2 and have jumped from 10th in the Western Conference to the eighth and final playoff spot. If the playoffs started today, the Stars would faceoff against the Canucks in the Western Conference Quarterfinals.

3. Dallas has not lost a game in regulation this season against teams based in Canada (5-0-1). They have also won seven of their 10 contests against Northwest Division opponents (7-3-0 record).

4. Twenty games remain in the regular season for the Dallas Stars. Ten of those games will occur on the road, while the other 10 will be played at home. They have two back-to-back sets remaining (MIN/WPG) (VAN/SJ), as well as 12 games against teams that are currently in a playoff position. Dallas has two more regulation/OT wins than the Pacific Division-leading San Jose Sharks.

5. The Stars and Canucks are two of four Western Conference clubs that have not lost a game in regulation when leading after two periods this season. Vancouver has a 26-0-0 record while Dallas has a 19-0-1 record when leading after two. In fact, the Stars have not lost a game in regulation when leading after the first two periods since Oct. 31, 2009 when they lost to the Nashville Predators (60-0-6 record since then).



WHO TO WATCH:

MIKE RIBEIRO is currently on a six-game point streak (2-6-8).

KARI LEHTONEN has a 6-4-2 record with a .928 save percentage, a 2.06 goals against average with one shutout since the All-Star Break. He has allowed just one goal in his last two games, stopping 59 of 60 shots in that span.

TOBY PETERSEN has earned one assist and three shots in the last three games. He was recently voted the 15th nicest player in the league in a Sports Illustrated NHL player’s poll as well as the third nicest American-born hockey player.