New Jersey @ Dallas preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 2, 2019 ) New Jersey 4, Dallas 5

The Dallas Stars are experiencing a power surge as they host the struggling New Jersey Devils on Tuesday. Dallas scored twice with the man advantage in each of its last two contests - a 3-2 overtime victory over Winnipeg to start the four-game homestand and a 3-1 win over the New York Islanders on Saturday - after going 1-for-8 during a four-game slide (0-3-1).

"Players are moving the puck and have an attack mindset,” Stars coach Jim Montgomery told reporters about his power-play unit. “You want to put their players on their heels." Alexander Radulov provided a goal and an assist with the man advantage against the Islanders after he was a healthy scratch versus the Jets. New Jersey has lost five in a row (0-4-1) after a 6-4 setback at Nashville on Saturday and boasts the second-fewest points in the league. "It's hard not to get frustrated, but at the same time, I think you have to focus on the next game,'' Devils right wing Kyle Palmieri told reporters after scoring his team-high 11th goal of the season. "It's something that we talked about after the coaching change. It's time to take a deep breath and realize the things that we need to get better at in this room. It's going to be a process, but I think in order to start taking some steps forward you need to move that first leg. We're finding ways to shoot ourselves in the foot. It's tough to gain momentum when you do that consistently, as we do."

TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, MSG Plus (New Jersey), FS Southwest (Dallas)

ABOUT THE DEVILS (9-15-5): Taylor Hall (club-most 25 points) has picked up his game with trade talks swirling around him by scoring in each of the last two contests, giving him four of his six goals in the last nine games. New Jersey allows 3.62 per game - second-most in the league - with active goaltenders Mackenzie Blackwood and Louis Domingue combining for a .893 save percentage. Nico Hischier scored in two straight games before missing the last two because of illness, but is expected to play Tuesday.

ABOUT THE STARS (17-11-3): Radulov, whose nine goals are second on the club to Roope Hintz (11), didn't speak to reporters after recording his fifth multi-point game of the season but teammate Ben Bishop said: "(Radulov) is an elite player. I wasn't too worried about him coming back. He probably needed a rest anyway."
Denis Gurianov has scored in consecutive games for the first time in his 48-game career with Saturday's goal coming on the power play. Bishop (11-6-2, 2.13 goals-against average, .932 save percentage) is 10-2-1 in his last 13 decisions and 10-2-0, 1.65, .943 in his career against New Jersey.

OVERTIME

1. Dallas D Miro Heiskanen has a goal and three assists in his last three games and his plus-8 rating leads the club along with D Esa Lindell.

2. Devils D P.K. Subban has five points in 29 games and is a club-worst minus-15.

3. The clubs have split the last eight meetings encompassing the last four season series with the home team winning the last four encounters.

PREDICTION: Stars 3, Devils 2