NHL Preview Roundup: Dallas Stars vs. Columbus Blue Jackets, Buffalo Sabres vs. Montreal Canadiens
Dallas Stars vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (7:00 p.m. ET)
Dallas is another team in the National Hockey League (NHL) that has gotten off to a much better start than expected before, while Columbus, with all its acquisitions over the 2011 offseason, has disappointed thus far beyond what was thought possible.
Currently, the Stars have lost only a single game out of the five they have played up until now and maintain a three-game winning streak. Their last match can be a factor in determining who will win on Tuesday since Stars defeated Blue Jackets, 4-2, earlier
on Saturday.
Acquiring one of the league’s top scorers, Jeff Carter, from Philadelphia in a blockbuster trade during the offseason, Columbus has lost all five of its games along with the 26-year-old due to a fracture above his right foot, meaning he might not be available
on Tuesday either.
"We're hoping it won’t be too long", coach Scott Arniel told the Columbus Dispatch. "We might get him back for the weekend. The ones on top you can sometimes play through".
This time, both teams will face-off at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, United States, which could make all the difference for the Blue Jackets, but many are not counting on it seeing how the Stars are playing nowadays.
If Columbus is not able to capture wins in their upcoming matchups to compensate for their previous losses, the Eastern Conference team might be seeing some hard times later on in the season as other team’s progress and move up in the ranks.
Buffalo Sabres vs. Montreal Canadiens (7:30 p.m.)
Buffalo Sabres so far have certainly impressed spectators with their performance coming into the season by beating a team like Anaheim Ducks in their opening matchup than another blow to Los Angeles Kings and most recently to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.
The rejuvenated team will be facing Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday, which should not be much of a challenge for them seeing the way the team has played the past few days. The Canadiens have won only a single match in the past four and have begun digging a
grave for themselves early into the season.
If Montreal has any plans on winning, they will have to motivate their young goalie, Carey Price, who is looking forward to his 100th career victory but is struggling to find it.
"It was a roller coaster. I thought the guys played well and deserved better. It was a tough one for me tonight, obviously, with five goals. I wish I would have played better but at least we got a point out of it. We can move forward with that, I guess".
-- Canadiens goalie, Carey Price, after Saturday's 6-5 shootout loss to Colorado.
Buffalo is missing Jochen Hecht due to a concussion and are keeping him day-to-day while the opposition will be without a number of top contributors like, Mike Cammalleri, Jaroslav Specek, Chris Campoli, Andrei Markov and Ryan White.
Thomas Vanek is playing in top-form for Buffalo at the moment and has seven points (3 goals, 4 assists), while forward, Luke Adam is also potting goals and making plays when the team needs them most. No Montreal player has equal or higher stats than the
above two, but for the Canadiens, Tomas Plekanec and Max Pacioretty each have two goals and two assists.
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