Vancouver @ Dallas preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 14, 2019 ) Dallas 4, Vancouver 2

Teams heading in opposite directions take to the ice Tuesday as the slumping Vancouver Canucks begin a season-high six game road trip against the surging Dallas Stars. The script has been flipped for both clubs as the Stars managed one victory in their first nine games of the season (1-7-1) before winning 10 of their last 12 (10-1-1) while the Canucks are looking to remain in the playoff hunt after entering November 8-3-1 but going 1-4-2 in their past seven.

The Canucks needed some late-game theatrics to earn a point against Colorado on Saturday as Alex Edler and Brock Boeser each scored with the goaltender pulled in the final 2:37 of regulation to force an extra frame before eventually falling 5-4. “Our big guys, I thought they really stepped up and that’s going to give you some confidence,” Vancouver forward Sven Baertschi told reporters. “Getting that point tonight, it was important for us, you know. We’d probably go on the road right now with a little bit of a different feeling if we would’ve lost in regulation tonight, but I thought the effort was good at the end.” The Stars are coming off a successful road trip through Winnipeg and Western Canada that saw them earn seven of a possible eight points and concluded with an overtime goal by captain Jamie Benn to give Dallas a 5-4 victory in Edmonton on Saturday. “I can’t believe it went in,” Benn told reporters after ending the longest goal drought of his career (15 games). “There’s never any quit in our team. We found a way to get five (goals) and it was a great battle back by our team.”

TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, Sportsnet Pacific (Vancouver), FS Southwest (Dallas)

ABOUT THE CANUCKS (10-7-4): Vancouver was sixth in the league entering Monday with a 24.4 success rate from an inconsistent power play that scored twice against Colorado and three times versus Nashville on Nov. 12, but only three in its other 25 November chances. “Our first unit really wasn’t getting anything going (Saturday),” coach Travis Green told reporters regarding the struggles of his top unit that consists of Boeser, Elias Pettersson and captain Bo Horvat. “I thought we lost momentum with the first couple power plays.” Horvat is in the midst of a nine-game goalless drought and has only an empty-net goal in his last 12 games.

ABOUT THE STARS (11-8-2): Dallas faced a 4-2 third-period deficit against Edmonton on Saturday but fought back with goals from Black Comeau and Tyler Seguin that helped facilitate Benn’s overtime heroics. “It’s something to think you can do it. It’s another thing to believe you can do it,” coach Jim Montgomery told the media. “And once you accomplish it, it’s easier to do again and again.” The Stars boast a 1.83 goals-against average in their last 12 games and have surrendered 51 goals this season, which was fifth-fewest in the league.

OVERTIME

1. Dallas won the first of three meetings 4-2 on Thursday behind a goal and assist from Seguin (team-high 16 points).

2. The Stars are 5-4-2 in one-goal games this season while the Canucks are 3-3-4.

3. Vancouver entered Monday seventh in the NHL with 2.76 goals allowed per game but has yielded four or more goals in four of its last five contests.

PREDICTION: Stars 4, Canucks 2