The Sports Network
(Sports Network) - Seeking their first winning streak of the season, the
Dallas Stars on Wednesday night take aim at a fifth straight victory over the
slumping Edmonton Oilers.
The Stars dropped five of their previous six ahead of Monday's 3-2 victory in
Colorado. Jamie Benn and Brenden Morrow both collected their first goals of
the season, while Kari Lehtonen made 29 saves.
Benn finished with two goals and an assist after logging just a single helper
over his first four games. He opened the game on a line with Morrow, who
notched his third point of the season, and Jaromir Jagr.
"I felt really good out there tonight," said Benn. "Our line controlled the
play a little bit more than it has been. We're just trying to get better each
and every game."
Dallas won for only the second time in six road games this season and conclude
a three-game swing on Wednesday. It will then host the Anaheim Ducks on Friday
before hitting the road for another three straight.
The Stars will first try to extend their success over the Oilers after taking
all four meetings last season by a combined 14-4 margin. They held the Oilers
to a single goal in each game and have won nine of the past 10 encounters
overall, taking four of five in Edmonton over that span.
The Oilers come into this meeting having lost three straight, though two of
those defeats have come after regulation. That includes Monday's 3-2 home loss
to the Vancouver Canucks in overtime.
Ales Hemsky and Ryan Smyth scored to stake Edmonton to a 2-0 lead, but
Vancouver clawed back and tied the game with 2:17 to go in the third.
Taylor Hall had a chance to win the game for the Oilers when he was awarded a
penalty shot at the 2:47 mark of overtime, but his wrist shot was turned aside
and the Canucks' Christopher Tanev beat Edmonton netminder Devan Dubnyk with
19.3 ticks left in the frame for his first career goal.
Dubnyk was solid with 37 saves.
"We should have been able to win that game with our goalie playing the way he
was playing," said Smyth. "We blew our assignments and when you give them
chances like that they'll make you pay."
Oilers defenseman Mark Fistric left the game in the first with a back injury
and is day-to-day, but the hand injury Shawn Horcoff suffered in the loss was
a more serious one.
The forward sustained a broken knuckle blocking a shot in the second period
and Oilers head coach Ralph Krueger said the captain could be out "long-term."
Horcoff had just returned to the lineup after missing two games with a neck
strain.
The Sports Network