Pregame Notes (46): Stars Looking For Rebound Win In First Matchup With Detroit

Sunday night's matchup at the American Airlines Center will feature two teams currently on two very different paths. The Dallas Stars are two points away from taking sole position of second place in the Central Division, while the Detroit Red Wings are attempting to climb up the ranks to fight for a Wild Card spot.

The Stars have had Detroit's number in recent years, winning their last seven games against the Red Wings, with the Motor City's last win coming back in April 2021. Throughout that span, Dallas has thoroughly outplayed the Red Wings by outscoring Detroit 32-17.

The Stars are coming off a disappointing loss to the Avalanche, in which Dallas were unable to keep up with Colorado's offensive attack. Jason Robertson kept up his scoring ways as he notched two goals and three points. Robertson comes into Sunday's game with a four-game point streak, collecting six points, with four of those coming via goals.

The Detroit Red Wings will continue the trend of recent tough opponents as they come into Sunday's game, winners of six in their last eight games. They hope to collect their seventh win in January after coming off a 5-1 trouncing to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Detroit currently ranks seventh place in the Atlantic Division, sitting four points back of a Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.

All eyes will be on Lucas Raymond as he comes into the contest riding a seven-game point streak. Raymond will be searching for his first career goal against Dallas. Detroit will also rely on forward Alex DeBrincat and captain Dylan Larkin to get things going in the offensive end. Larkin currently leads the team in goals with 20, while DeBrincat is currently tied with the aforementioned Raymond with 19 goals.

What to watch for:

• The Red Wings come into Sunday's matchup with a 29% success rate on the power play, ranking them second in the NHL. The Stars will put that to the test while putting forth their NHL-best 85.1% penalty kill unit.

• Wyatt Johnston will look to improve upon his active three-game point streak where he has collected five points during that span.

• Jake Oettinger will be back in net tonight, and hoping to start up a new winning streak after his previous win streak was cut short in his last outing against the Canadiens.

Projected Lineup:

Robertson-Johnston-Dadonov

Benn-Duchene-Stankoven

Blumel-Steel-Bourque

Hryckowian-Back-Blackwell

Heiskanen-Lyubushkin

Lindell-Lundkvist

Harley-Dumba

Oettinger

DeSmith

Puckdrop is set for 7pm CST and available to watch on Victory+ and ESPN+.