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Sports

Struggling Stars begin road trip in Buffalo

By Sports Network
Published | Updated

(SportsNetwork.com) - The Dallas Stars attempt to open up a three-game road trip on a positive note Saturday night when they visit the struggling Buffalo Sabres.

The Stars have lost four of their past six games (2-3-1) and dropped a 5-3 decision to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday evening in a matchup of two of the NHL's higher-scoring clubs.

Dallas erased deficits of 2-0 and 3-2 but never led in its second straight loss, with Kari Lehtonen allowing four goals on 28 shots.

"Kari wasn't good enough for us tonight," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. "He's got to be better for us."

The Stars received all three goals from defensemen as John Klingberg, Alex Goligoski and Trevor Daley lit the lamp in defeat. Captain Jamie Benn, meanwhile, had an assist to give him three goals and four helpers over a five- game point streak.

Dallas, which is five points back in the wild card race, will visit the New York Rangers on Sunday and both Lehtonen and Anders Lindback are expected to get starts this weekend. Lindback was recalled on Friday from a conditioning stint designed to get him more playing time with Lehtonen having gotten the bulk of the work recently.

Lehtonen is 8-4-2 with a 3.02 goals against average and .900 save percentage in 15 games (14 starts) versus the Sabres, while Lindback is 1-2-0 in three meetings with a 3.05 GAA and .877 save percentage.

The Sabres continue to bring up the rear in the NHL standings with just 33 points. They snapped a 14-game slide with Tuesday's 3-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens, but were then blanked 3-0 by the St. Louis Blues two nights later.

Jhonas Enroth did the best he could by making 27 saves, but the Sabres dropped the opener of a five-game homestand that continues on Sunday versus the New York Islanders.

"I thought Jhonas played a strong game for us," said Sabres coach Ted Nolan.

Enroth lost his only previous matchup with the Stars, giving up three goals on 39 shots faced. Backup Michal Neuvirth, who suffered a lower-body injury during the All-Star break and hasn't started since Jan. 17., is 0-2-0 with a 3.54 GAA and .877 save percentage in two meetings with Dallas.

The Stars have won two straight and three of their past four versus the Sabres overall.

Dallas was 0-5-1 with a tie in its previous seven trips to Buffalo before picking up a 4-3 victory on Oct. 28, 2013 in its most recent trip to Western New York.