Pittsburgh Penguins start road trip against Dallas Stars - NHL Preview
Pittsburgh Penguins face Dallas Stars on Wednesday, February 29th, 2012, at the American Airlines Center as they start a two-game road trip.
The Penguins having won their last three games at home will be looking to continue their push for top-two finish and secure home ice advantage for the playoff rounds.
Pittsburgh, are currently fourth in the Eastern Conference with 77-points and tied with second placed Boston Bruins, however, a run to the pole position in the Eastern Conference looks completely out of reach with the New York Rangers holding a nine-point
advantage.
With three wins at home the Penguins will be looking to bring that same form on the road starting with Dallas.
The Stars on the other hand are tied for eighth spot in the Western Conference with both Colorado Avalanche and Los Angeles Kings and the two points for Dallas never looked so important.
Dallas’ form though shows they are up for the challenge.
The Stars are on a four-game winning run and will be looking to continue their surge for the playoffs at home against Pittsburgh.
Penguins (36-21-5, 77pts)
Pittsburgh has been hot in offence over its last three games with forward Evgeni Malkin in brilliant form as he leads his team’s offensive line.
The Penguins have scored a total of 14-goals in their three wins including the 8-1 demolition of Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.
They followed that big win up with a 4-2 victory over Columbus Blue Jackets. Malkin started the scoring for the Penguins and the offence did not look back from that point onwards as they scored a further three goals in the final period.
Coach Dan Bylsma after the game was pleased with the effort and wants more of the same.
"That's two big consistent wins for us. I thought we had two good responses."
Pittsburgh will be favourites to win over the Dallas Stars as their highly skilled offensive line shows no signs of slowing down and it will take a big performance from the Stars to keep them out.
Stars (33-26-4, 70pts)
Dallas though is not going to sit back and watch Pittsburgh take control.
The Stars are on a four game winning run and playing with full confidence at home. Dallas won their fourth straight game against the league’s best team this season with a brilliant comeback performance.
The Vancouver Canucks took a two goal lead in the second period but Stars fought back and just about managed to equalise late in the third period with just a minute left in regulation.
Loui Eriksson then stepped forward in overtime to complete a wonderful comeback.
Predictions
Pittsburgh Penguins are the better team and with Evgeni Malkin in the line-up will be favourites to win.
Both offences are in good form and fans can expect to see lots of goals scored on Wednesday.
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