Though it comes just two days after the first of three straight meetings between the clubs, the Dallas Stars will have a different look on Wednesday night when they visit the Anaheim Ducks.
These two Pacific Division rivals opened a span of three games against each other over five days on Monday in Dallas. Anaheim left town with a 4-0 victory and will also host the Stars on Friday.
The setback gave Dallas a 2-3-0 record on a five-game homestand and was its eighth setback in 12 games. And though the club is just three points out of a playoff spot, it traded away forward Jaromir Jagr and center Derek Roy in separate deals on Tuesday. Dallas had previously dealt former captain Brandon Morrow to the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 24.
Jagr, who was leading the Stars with 14 goals and 26 points at the time of the trade, was sent to the Boston Bruins for forwards Lane MacDermid and Cody Payne as well as a second-round draft pick in 2013 that becomes a first round selection if the Bruins reach the Eastern Conference finals.
Roy, meanwhile, goes to the Vancouver Canucks for defensive prospect Kevin Connauton and a 2013 second-round pick. In 30 games this season, Roy has four goals and 18 assists for 22 points.
Both Jagr and Roy are scheduled to be unrestricted free agents at season's end.
"Decisions are always difficult and my responsibility is to assess where I feel our team is at," said Stars general manager Joe Nieuwendyk. "We've been in this position before over the last three years in my tenure, where you are either a point in or a point out or you're knocking on the door. I felt this year it was an opportunity for us to move some expiring contracts along to receive some good, young assets and picks in a very deep draft.
"It's a unique season with only 12 games remaining after the trade deadline, so I really felt this was really an opportunity to put our organization in a good position moving forward."
With Jagr and Roy in the lineup on Monday, the Stars failed to get any of their 26 shots past Anaheim goaltender Viktor Fasth, who posted his third shutout of the season.
"He made big saves," said Anaheim head coach Bruce Boudreau about Fasth. "We weren't perfect tonight, we had break downs, and I think all Viktor did was frustrate that team. I've been on that end, whether it's a player or a coach. That was the big thing. We didn't want them to get one because we thought that would really energize them."
Kari Lehtonen stopped 26-of-29 shots for the Stars, who will play their next three on the road.
"Obviously the result isn't what you want," said Stars head coach Glen Gulutzan. "We didn't lose, we got beat. We got beat. We had enough there, if we would've capitalized, to win."
Bobby Ryan, Corey Perry and Matt Beleskey all scored in a span of less than five minutes in the second period for the Ducks, while Teemu Selanne scored an empty-net goal.
Anaheim is 2-0-1 following a four-game slide and is 10 points up on the Los Angeles Kings for first place in the Pacific Division. It also trails the Chicago Blackhawks by four points for the top spot in the Western Conference.
The Ducks begin a five-game homestand and have lost three of their last four at home versus the Stars. Their win on Monday was the third in the past 10 versus Dallas overall.
This stretch marks the first time that the Stars will play the same opponent in three straight during the regular season since they relocated from Minnesota.
The Ducks, meanwhile, are playing three in a row versus the same club in the regular season for the second time in team history. Anaheim went 1-0-2 over a three-game span versus the Phoenix Coyotes on March 2-6, losing a pair of shootout games on the road before a home victory.
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