Game 57: Stars vs Oilers

I'm just going to jump right into things...

Dallas Stars Player Stats 08-09

Name	Mike Ribeiro	Loui Eriksson	Mike Modano	James Neal
Goals	13	27	14	18
Assists	37	16	23	11
Points	50	43	37	29
+/-	-7	+12	+2	-5

Brad Richards is out for six to eight weeks with a wrist injury. Brendon Morrow could return in the final week if there is a miracle. He says that it would be more likely to return during the playoffs, if the Stars make the playoffs. They are seeded sixth right now, but play an Oiler team who is seeded eighth currently. Of course, the absense of Richards changes the top four, adding Neal into the picture. Still not a bad group of guys.

Oilers Player Stats 08-09

Name	Ales Hemsky	Shawn Horcoff	Sheldon Souray	Tom Gilbert
Goals	18	13	15	3
Assists	32	25	21	31
Points	50	38	36	34
+/-	+2	+8	-6	+5

The Oilers are 2-1 this season against the Stars with Sheldon Souray leading the pack with 6 points. He has one goal and five assists. The Stars will need to watch him closely to change the trend around. The Stars won the first meeting between the two teams and the lost the next two leading into this game.

Goalie Comparrison

Name	Games (Starts)	Record	GAA	SV%
Marty Turco	53 (53)	27-19-7	2.81	.897
Dwayne Roloson	40 (40)	20-14-6	2.72	.916

Roloson is 1-0 against the Stars this season. The Stars won every match against the Oilers last season, according to ESPN.com. This game is the final meeting between the two teams in the regular season. It should be noted that Turco has still been playing good of late. Forecast: The Richards loss is puzzling. The Stars won against Columbus without Richards, but still, you would prefer to have Richards and Morrow on the ice if they were available. The Stars have responded well without key players. This game does have a direct impact on the standing, just like the previous game. I want to go with the Stars, but my gut tells me otherwise. Oilers take this away from the Stars, 3-2 in overtime. Johnny Out.

Home Ice