Hurricanes go for 3rd in row at surging Stars
DALLAS -- When the Carolina Hurricanes and Dallas Stars meet on Saturday night at American Airlines Center, it will be a battle of two hot teams.
Carolina (3-1-1) is fresh off consecutive road wins at Edmonton on Tuesday and at Calgary on Thursday, and the Hurricanes look to finish their four-game road trip by defeating the Stars on Saturday.
"There are a lot of good things we can build on from this game," Carolina coach Bill Peters told the Raleigh News and Observer after the 2-1 win in Calgary. "We can be stifling when we play the right way."
The Hurricanes got a goal and an assist from center Jeff Skinner on Thursday. In Tuesday's win at Edmonton, Carolina got a four-point game (goal, three assists) from Jordan Staal and two goals from Teuvo Teravainen.
Justin Williams added a goal on Thursday to accompany his two assists against the Oilers, giving Skinner and the team plenty of confidence heading into Saturday's contest.
"Yeah, I think we want to keep improving," Skinner told Fox Sports Carolina after Thursday's win. "This is another thing we can try and take and build momentum off."
Dallas (4-3-0) has won three straight games after edging Arizona 5-4 on the road Thursday evening at Gila River Arena. The Stars also defeated the Coyotes 3-1 on Tuesday at home.
In Thursday's victory, Dallas' potent offensive duo of captain Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin combined for five points (three goals, two assists), which is exactly what first-year Stars coach Ken Hitchcock likes to see.
"I really liked the way our big boys played," Hitchcock told the team's official website after Thursday's game. "Our top players played and carried the day, and that's what you need if you're going to win on the road. The right players needed to come through did it for us."
Saturday marks Dallas' final home game of October. After dropping its season opener, 3-2 to the expansion Vegas Golden Knights on Oct. 6, the Stars have rebounded with back-to-back home victories against Detroit last week and Arizona earlier this week.
One reason Dallas overcame an 0-2-0 start is that the new personnel added during the offseason are starting to jell with their teammates.
Nowhere is this new chemistry more evident than on Dallas' top line, which features Benn, Seguin and newcomer Alexander Radulov.
"We need to put a full 60-minute effort in as far as coming to the puck and working together because when we do that, other teams can't touch us as a line, so we got to do that more," Seguin said of his line following Thursday's win in Arizona.
Another offseason addition who has performed well for Dallas is goaltender Ben Bishop, who ranks seventh in the NHL with a 1.93 goals-against-average and is tied for third with four victories.
Bishop was injured in the season opener when a puck passed through his mask and cut his forehead, and he also missed Dallas' second game of the season, a road loss at St. Louis the following event.
However, since then, the veteran netminder has been as good as advertised for his new employer.
"He's doing his job and beyond," Seguin said of Bishop. "We got the utmost confidence with him out there. He's been great."
Neither team practiced Friday.