Pregame Notes (Game 48): Stars, Knights Battle in Meeting of Western Conference Heavyweights

The Dallas Stars welcome a familiar foe to the American Airlines Center Friday night as the Vegas Golden Knights come to town in a rematch of the hotly contested first round playoff series last season.

The Stars are coming off of two days of rest after losing to the Carolina Hurricanes in a low scoring 2-1 game on Tuesday. The Stars trailed until the third period when Thomas Harley scored his seventh goal of the season to level the score 1-1. The joy for Stars fans was short-lived when Jesperi Kotkaniemi scored the game winning goal only 24 seconds later, a problem that has plagued the Stars all season. Dallas has given up an inordinate amount of goals within a couple minutes of scoring, and when the parameters are extended to four minutes after a goal, the number increases even more.

In their previous meeting against the Golden Knights, the Stars fell 3-2. Dallas can even the season series tonight before seeing the Knights once again on Tuesday night in Vegas. After that, the next potential meeting would come in the playoffs, which could mark the third postseason meeting in a row between the two teams.

Vegas is on the second night of a back-to-back on the road. The Golden Knights dispatched the St. Louis Blues 4-2 Thursday night with goals from captain Mark Stone and leading goal scorer Pavel Dorofeyev. Goaltender Ilya Samsonov made 15 saves on 17 shots, meaning starter Adin Hill will most likely be in between the pipes Friday in Dallas.

Meanwhile, Dallas is on the first half of their back-to-back with the Blues, heading to St. Louis for a Saturday night showdown. Casey DeSmith and Jake Oettinger will split duties over the next two nights.

Things to watch for:

• Roope Hintz enters the game with six points in his last seven games, including two goals and four assists. Hintz has been out with an injury and drew back in the lineup against Carolina, where he played with Sam Steel and Logan Stankoven and did not get on the score sheet.

• Wyatt Johnston is on a five-game point streak with one goal and six assists. A point in tonight's game will give Johnston points in six straight games for the third time this season. He currently has 37 points in 47 games.

• It is possible that Brendan Smith makes his season debut as a forward. Smith has played as a forward in the past and with things unclear on the blue line and with continuing injuries among forwards, the Stars have the flexibility to try things out. On defense, Lian Bichsel was called up Thursday in preparation of the two games in two nights, and he should draw into the lineup against Vegas.

Make sure you bookmark THN's Dallas Stars site for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.

Stars Unable To Capitalize On Chances, Fall 2-1 to Hurricanes

Stars Forward Back In The Lineup After Missing Time With Upper Body Injury

Predators Tough Guy Should Be On Dallas' Radar At The Trade Deadline

Stars Backup Struggles In 6-3 Loss To Avalanche

• Follow Taylor on Twitter: @THN_taylor