The two-week break in the schedule for most of the Dallas Stars couldn’t come at a better time, but they still have two more games to play this weekend.
The Stars are scheduled to visit the Los Angeles Kings on Friday night and the San Jose Sharks on Saturday before a handful of Dallas players head to the 4 Nations Face-Off in Boston and the rest head home.
“You get this close to a break, I’m sure your mind starts to wander about what you’re going to do,” Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said following a 2-1 loss to Ducks in Anaheim on Tuesday.
The Stars, who had a five-game winning streak snapped on Tuesday, would like to collect four more points before going their separate directions. They entered Thursday 10 points behind the Central Division-leading Winnipeg Jets and three points ahead of the third-place Minnesota Wild.
A pack of hungry wild-card teams also lurk behind, including the Colorado Avalanche.
“These are important games,” Dallas forward Colin Blackwell said. “We’re trying to finish this on a strong note. We don’t play for a little while, so there’s nothing to save it for.”
Dallas could also use the extra time to get healthy, particularly on the defensive end.
The latest player to go down was defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin, who sustained an undisclosed injury in the second period against Anaheim and did not return.
The Stars are also missing defensemen Miro Heiskanen (knee surgery) and Nils Lundkvist (shoulder surgery).
“We’re four days away from a two-week break,” DeBoer said.
The Kings, who entered Thursday six points behind the second-place Vegas Golden Knights in the Pacific Division, have won two straight following a season-long four-game losing streak (0-3-1).
The Kings topped the visiting Montreal Canadiens 6-3 on Wednesday night, using their speed to wear down the Canadiens before putting them away with four goals in the third period.
“That’s one thing we’ve done, especially the last two games, is playing more north,” said Kings forward Warren Foegele, who scored his first NHL penalty shot against the Canadiens. “We’ve got a lot of fast forwards, and we’re utilizing our ability to move our feet and our speed. Playing north, it’s just hard to play against.”
Kevin Fiala has been spearheading many of Los Angeles’ attacks of late.
He has scored four goals in the past two games, and the two he scored against Montreal gave him his sixth consecutive 20-goal season.
“I think he’s going to have a really good second half,” Kings coach Jim Hiller said. “He’s been working hard and consistently and really, I think, playing some of his best hockey, consistently. You can probably go back about 10 games. It hasn’t got all the results, but you can just feel it coming, or we could, at least. It’s nice to see it start to go in for him, but I maintain I think he’s going to have a really strong second half.”
Hiller said Fiala’s hot streak has helped elevate the games of linemates Quinton Byfield and Alex Laferriere. Byfield had three assists against the Canadiens, and Laferriere had another.
“Kevin and Laf are probably a little bit more pure offensive players, and Q just does a great job of complementing them offensively, yes, but also taking care of them defensively,” Hiller said. I think it fits pretty good. I think just good chemistry through the three of them.”
