Dallas Stars look to build momentum as it goes to face Arizona Coyotes

Stars at Coyotes

8 p.m. Tuesday, Gila River Arena, Glendale, Ariz.

TV: FSSW Plus

Radio: KTCK/1310 AM and 96.7 FM

Records: Coyotes 11-18-5, 27 points; Stars 14-14-7, 35 pts.

About the Stars: Dallas returns from the three-day holiday break coming off a 3-1-1 homestand. The Stars are 4-9-4 on the road this season. Forward Patrick Eaves leads the Stars in goals (12), and forward Tyler Seguin leads in points (33, 10th in NHL). Goalie Kari Lehtonen snapped his two-game losing streak Friday in the Stars’ 3-2 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Kings. Esa Lindell had the OT goal as the Stars went to 2-7 this season in overtime. Antti Niemi was in goal for four straight games before Friday. In a major defensive turnaround, the Stars have a goals against average of 2.00 and a save percentage of .918 over the past 10 games. But Dallas is only 5-4-1 in those games because of offensive woes. The Stars have recent losses of 2-1, 3-1, 2-0 and 3-2 in OT.

About the Coyotes: Arizona looks to snap a four-game losing streak during which the Coyotes have scored just six goals. Arizona is 13th in the Western Conference standings, 11 points out of the last playoff spot. Mike Smith is expected to start in goal against the team that drafted him 161st overall in 2001, according to the Coyotes website. Forward Radim Vrbata leads the Coyotes in goals (eight), assists (14) and points (22).

This story was originally published December 26, 2016 at 7:07 PM with the headline "Dallas Stars look to build momentum as it goes to face Arizona Coyotes."