NHL Preview: Sharks Take On Stars in Big D

San Jose Sharks (1.87) at Dallas Stars (1.95)

The Sharks have dropped four straight on the road. The Stars have won five straight at home. Doesn’t something have to give?

That’s the story heading into tonight’s contest as the San Jose Sharks travel to Dallas to take on the Stars at the American Airlines Arena. This key Pacific Division battle is one to be watching as both teams try to keep pace with the division-leading Los Angeles Kings.

If the Sharks are going to do the business tonight, they’ll have to do it with a depleted blueline. Defencemen Douglas Murray (lower body) and Niclas Wallin (general soreness) both missed last night’s game in Colorado and are currently listed as day-to-day. Replacing them were AHL call-ups Derek Joslin and Mike Moore — the pair dressed together in the same game for the first time against the Avs and acquitted themselves nicely. Moore scored his first NHL goal against Colorado while Joslin displayed some heady play while under pressure and didn’t turn the puck over very often.

The Stars will likely be looking to their top line to provide the offense tonight, much like it has for the entire season. The Brad Richards-James Neal-Loui Eriksson trio has quietly become one of the NHL’s best, thanks in large part to the stellar play of Richards. The quiet, unassuming center has 21 points in 16 games and is a plus-10 while Erikson (nine goals, nine assists) and Neal (five goals, nine assists) have been equally good. It’s possible that all three players could hit the 80-point plateau this season, which is an oustanding total on a team that doesn’t have a lot of depth up front. Richards-Neal-Eriksson are facing a lot of opposing shutdown lines as teams can afford to ignore Dallas’ other three lines in an effort to silence the top unit.

In other games…

Florida Panthers at Boston Bruins: This will be the first time Nathan Horton and Gregory Campbell play against their old Florida Panthers mates since the summer trade that saw them go to Boston.  To note: Florida has won nine of its last 12 visits to Boston.

New Jersey Devils at Toronto Maple Leafs: The Leafs snapped an eight-game losing streak by beating Nashville 5-4 on Tuesday and will look to extend their winning streak to two against the lowly Devils. The Leafs will be without the services of goalie JS Giguere, who will be out 1-2 weeks with a groin strain.

Tampa Bay Lightning at Philadelphia Flyers: This will be the second meeting between the clubs this year — back on October 14, the Lightning scored a 3-2 win in Philadelphia thanks to goals from Steven Stamkos, Dominic Moore and Pavel Kubina.