Florida @ Dallas preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 12, 2019 ) Dallas 3, Florida 0

The Dallas Stars have been on the wrong side of a pair of one-goal contests to start their five-game homestand and will try to end that trend when they host the improved Florida Panthers on Tuesday night. The Stars have a three-point cushion for a Western Conference playoff spot with a game in hand after rallying from a two-goal deficit to tie before suffering a 3-2 shootout loss to Vancouver on Sunday.

“I think every point is a good point,” Dallas coach Jim Montgomery told reporters after the setback. “I thought overall, we played a good hockey game; the intensity in the first five minutes wasn’t there, but we found it. We generated numerous opportunities to win that game and just weren’t able to finish. Loved our effort.” Anton Khudobin made 30 saves to earn the shutout in a 3-0 win at Florida on Feb. 12 and the veteran netminder could be back in net for the third straight game, but Ben Bishop (24-14-2, .933 save percentage) is reportedly an option after missing two games with a lower-body injury. The Panthers had won four in a row before losing 3-2 at Anaheim on Sunday and sits eight points out of the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with 10 games to go. “This time of year it’s tough, because you need every point,” Florida coach Bob Boughner told reporters. “We know the guys are disappointed, but we’ve got to find a way to regroup here and get to Dallas and feel good about our road trip and try and go 3-1 on this trip.”

TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, FS Florida, FS Southwest (Dallas)

ABOUT THE PANTHERS (32-28-12): Jonathan Huberdeau set up two goals Sunday to set a franchise record for assists in a season with 55 - two more than Viktor Kozlov (53, 1999-2000) - and has 13 points (five goals) in the past six games. Captain Aleksander Barkov is also wielding a hot stick in the past six contests, registering two goals and 13 assists to push his team-leading total to career-high 83 points. Right wing Evgenii Dadonov, who has been skating with Barkov and Huberdeau of late, has three goals and six assists in the past six contests to close within two of his second straight 60-point season.

ABOUT THE STARS (37-29-6): Center Tyler Seguin has not scored in eight games this month, but recorded six assists in that same stretch to improve his season total to a team-leading 65 points. Right wing Alexander Radulov owns five of his 22 goals to go along with an assist in the last six contests and captain Jamie Benn has scored 26 times - one behind Seguin for the team lead. Defenseman John Klingberg boasts two goals to go along with six assists in the last nine contests and is two points away from reaching 40 for the fifth straight season to start his career, in which he boasts a plus-44 rating.

OVERTIME

1. Huberdeau has 227 career assists and needs three to pass Robert Svehla for third on the franchise’s all-time list

2. Bishop has not allowed a goal in a franchise-record 230 minutes, 53 seconds and boasts a .992 save percentage this month.

3. The Stars are 1-of-17 on the power play the last seven games while the Panthers have converted 8-of-25 in the same span.

PREDICTION: Stars 3, Panthers 2