The Dallas Stars hope to have Mike Modano back on Wednesday night when they host the Calgary Flames, led by Rene Bourque, at the American Airlines Center.
Two Western Conference teams that have had an early tendency to go ‘over’ the closing total go at it Wednesday when the Dallas Stars and Calgary Flames hook up for the second time this season.
The visiting Flames have seen the ‘over’ cash in nine of their first 12 outings, while the Stars have seen the ‘over’ go 10-4 in their first 14 encounters.
The two clubs have already met once this season (Oct. 9), with the Stars registering a 5-2 victory as $1.30 road underdogs. The combined seven goals jumped ‘over’ the closing 5 ½-goal total, ending a string of six straight ‘under’ series meetings.
The visiting Stars outshot the Flames, 30-23, and also had a 27-25 face-off advantage. Both Calgary goals occurred with the man advantage, as the club went 2-for-4 on the power play. The Stars were 0-for-2 with the extra attacker.
Alexander Auld stopped 21-of-23 shots for the winning Stars, while Curtis McElhinney took the loss for the Flames after stopping 25-of-29 shots.
Calgary is hitting the road in this spot after going 3-2 on its recently completed five-game homestand. The Flames got off to a quick start, capturing the first three games against the Canucks, Blue Jackets and Oilers. All three outings flew ‘over’ the closing total.
However, the Flames finished the homestand by dropping games against Colorado (3-1) and Detroit (3-1). Both contests dipped ‘under’ the total.
Dallas is also attempting to snap a two-game losing slide. The Stars are coming off a Halloween night 4-2 loss at Nashville as a $1.10 road underdog. Dallas has now yielded three goals or more in each of its last three games, with all three jumping ‘over’ the closing total.
Mikka Kiprusoff is 7-3-1 with a 3.00 GAA and a .901 save percentage in 11 starts for the Flames.
Marty Turco has seen most of the action between the pipes for Dallas, going 4-2-3 in nine starts with a 2.26 GAA and a .917 save percentage. However, Turco has been hit with the flu bug and is listed as “probable.”
Dallas center Mike Modano (ribs) hasn’t played since the opening game, but may be back in this spot. Right wing Jere Lehtinen (chest) is also “probable” after playing the first two games of the season.
The Flames are not reporting any injuries.
The Stars are 2-2-0-2 at home, while the Flames are 2-1-1-0 on enemy ice. However, the road team is 7-2 in the last nine series meetings.
