Dallas Stars vs. St. Louis Blues
Two teams on different streaks will in a Central Division rivalry game Thursday. The St. Louis Blues have lost their last three games in a row, while the Dallas Stars have won their last five.
The Blues have not looked like themselves in their recent games, taking a very sluggish start against the Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks and Minnesota Wild. In each of these games, the opposing team has scored early, and the Blues were unable to get back even in the game.
Meanwhile, the Stars are on a five-game winning streak, with their most recent win coming from a 7-2 victory in Colorado. The Stars are led by Tyler Seguin, who is averaging 1 point per game, sitting at 27 points scored this season.
While the Blues haven’t been playing as well as they started the season, they did come out very strong against the Wild, losing an early goal to a fluke, and then taking the game to overtime. The Blues are led by Jaden Schwartz, who has 32 points in 27 games.
The Blues are going to want to get a fire started under their offense, as they have not been producing as well as they were early in the season.
This game will start on Thursday at 7 p.m.
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
The young core of Toronto will clash with the back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions.
The Penguins won their last game 5-1 against Buffalo and are currently on a four-game winning streak. Phil Kessel leads the Penguins with 33 points this season in only 28 games.
The Maple Leafs lost a close 2-1 game in Vancouver on Dec. 2, even though they boasted 36 shots on goal to the Canucks’ 26. James van Riemsdyk got the lone goal for Toronto in this game, but 2016 first-overall draft pick Auston Matthews leads the team with 26 points this season in only 24 games played.
The Penguins sit in third place in the Metropolitan Division, while the Maple Leafs are second in the Atlantic.
Toronto has a very offensive game, scoring 15 more goals than its opponents have this season, and the Penguins have scored eight fewer goals than their opponents this season, showing their defensive skill.
This game will start on Saturday at 6 p.m.
Colorado Avalanche vs. Florida Panthers
Though they are lower-ranked teams in their divisions, the Panthers and the Avalanche can’t be counted out of the NHL just yet.
The Panthers have been getting production from Vincent Trocheck, who leads the team in goals with 10. The Panthers are currently on a three-game losing streak and have given up 14 more goals than they have scored this season.
The Avalanche is currently on a two-game losing streak, including a 7-2 loss to Dallas. The team will strive to maintain good defense to keep them in the game, since it has scored three fewer goals than their opponents this season. The Avalanche are led by Nathan MacKinnon, who has 29 points in 25 games.
This game will start on Saturday at 6 p.m.
