The surging Dallas Stars will aim for their second win in Edmonton in less than a week when they visit the Oilers for Tuesday's clash at Rexall Place.
The Stars, who are 4-1-0 in February, began a three-game winning streak with a win over Colorado on Feb. 4 before beating the Oilers by a 3-2 score in overtime last Wednesday. Jaromir Jagr scored 1:46 into the extra session to lift the Stars, who have won five straight over the Oilers overall and three in a row in Edmonton.
Dallas' success against the Oilers goes back even further, with the Stars claiming 10 of 11 and 18 of the last 23 meetings in this series. Edmonton also has lost five of its past six games in this series as the host.
The Stars should be well-rested for Tuesday's tilt since the club hasn't played since beating Anaheim 3-1 on Friday night. Kari Lehtonen ended with 20 saves for the win, while Trevor Daley and Jamie Benn posted first-period goals to stake Dallas to an early 2-0 lead. Loui Eriksson also lit the lamp for the Stars in the third period
"We wanted to get on them early," Benn said. "They're obviously a good team and they're on a bit of a hot streak so we wanted to go right after them and not give them any confidence. We used our home building to an advantage."
The win was the 758th for the Stars since the franchise moved to Texas 19 seasons ago. That equals the victory total the team had in 26 seasons as the Minnesota North Stars.
Monday's test marks the start of a three-game road trip for the Stars, who are 3-4-0 as the guest this season. Dallas also will face Calgary and Vancouver during the swing.
While the Stars enter Monday's matchup on a roll, the Oilers at least were able to halt a five-game losing streak in their last outing, a 3-1 win in Columbus on Sunday. It was Edmonton's first victory since beating San Jose in a shootout on Jan. 31.
The Oilers and Blue Jackets were tied at 1-1 heading into the final minute of regulation but late goals by Magnus Paajarvi and Sam Gagner allowed the Oilers to claim two points at Nationwide Arena.
Paajarvi scored on a one-timer with 3:10 left to put Edmonton ahead and Gagner sealed the win with an empty-net goal.
Ales Hemsky scored in the first period for the Oilers, who won despite being outshot 40-14.
Devan Dubnyk picked up the win with a season-high 39 saves and helped the Oilers kill off all seven off Columbus' seven chances with the man advantage.
"You need a goalie to steal one for you once in a while," Edmonton coach Ralph Krueger said of Dubnyk. "We were really flat as a team and he was just world class and outstanding all the way through."
The Oilers are kicking off a five-game homestand on Monday and have a 2-1-2 record as the host this season.
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