Dallas @ Vancouver preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 17, 2019 ) Vancouver 3, Dallas 2

The Dallas Stars are inching closer to wrapping up a playoff berth, but they have not taken the traditional route to get there, struggling on home ice while thriving on the road. The Stars have a chance to punch their ticket to the postseason when they attempt to complete a perfect four-game road trip Saturday against the Vancouver Canucks.

Despite losing five of its last six at home, Dallas strengthened its hold on the top wild-card spot in the Western Conference with a 3-2 shootout win at Edmonton on Thursday - its seventh consecutive road victory. The Stars also have their eyes on finishing in third place in the Central Division as they trail St. Louis by two points, although the Blues have a game in hand. "There's good teams behind us and we want to catch the good teams in front of us," Dallas captain Jamie Benn told reporters. "It's important to keep on going and finish this regular season out strong." The Canucks halted their three-game losing streak with a 3-2 shootout win over Los Angeles on Thursday but officially were eliminated from playoff contention on Friday, when eighth-place Colorado defeated Arizona in a shootout.

TV: 10 p.m. ET, FS Southwest (Dallas), CBC, Sportsnet360, Sportsnet Pacific (Vancouver)

ABOUT THE STARS (41-31-6): Ben Bishop suffered a lower-body injury in the second period of Wednesday's 2-1 win at Calgary, but backup Anton Khudobin stopped 15-of-16 shots in relief before making 40 saves against Edmonton the following night. Khudobin gave up two goals in a shootout loss to the Canucks earlier this season but is 3-0-1 lifetime against them. Alexander Radulov has scored in back-to-back games to give him five goals in nine contests and 26 on the season - one shy of matching the career high he set last campaign.

ABOUT THE CANUCKS (33-35-10): While rookie Elias Pettersson leads the team in goals (27), assists (38) and points (65), Vancouver could have another prize building block in defenseman Quinn Hughes. Signed out of the University of Michigan earlier this month, Hughes finally made his NHL debut on Thursday and notched an assist while registering two shots in 15 1/2 minutes of ice time. “He’s got a special talent and it doesn’t look like he lacks confidence," coach Travis Green told reporters. "You want your skilled guys to make plays, and he made a few that were very exciting."

OVERTIME

1. Stars C Tyler Seguin has recorded four goals and six assists during his six-game point streak.

2. Canucks RW Brock Boeser has netted five tallies over his last 10 contests to boost his season total to 25.

3. The Stars and Canucks have split their last six meetings, with the road team winning each time.

PREDICTION: Stars 3, Canucks 2