“Thrilling Clash Ahead: Surging Stars Seek Joyful Victory Against the Senators!”

The Dallas Stars aim to prolong their point streak to 10 games when they face the Ottawa Senators on Sunday.

The Stars, boasting a record of 8-0-1 in their last nine matches, celebrated their seventh consecutive victory with a 2-1 shootout triumph against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday evening.

“Every time you win, no matter how many in a row we’ve accomplished, it just enhances everyone’s performance. The atmosphere becomes more enjoyable, players are in high spirits, and coaches are more cheerful,” stated Dallas goaltender Jake Oettinger, who recorded 30 saves while denying all three shootout attempts launched at him by Montreal.

“It’s simply more enjoyable to attend the rink. We mentioned today, ‘This is enjoyable, let’s keep this momentum going.’ ”

This recent triumph is particularly remarkable considering the Stars are missing two of their key forwards, Tyler Seguin (hip injury) and Mason Marchment (facial injury).

“We’re certainly lacking some crucial components right now,” Oettinger remarked. “The ability to achieve this without those guys is even more commendable, and we’ll strive to give our best until we have all the lads back.”

The Senators have not participated in the playoffs since their defeat in the Eastern Conference finals in 2017, but they are certainly in contention.

Ottawa begins the latter half of its season just three points shy of the final wild-card position in the Eastern Conference.

“It’s positive that we’re in the position we aimed to be in,” Senator defenseman Thomas Chabot noted. “When you glance at the standings, everything is tightly packed and extremely close. There’s not much margin for error out there.”

The closest the Senators have approached a playoff spot since their last appearance was two seasons ago when they ended up six points behind the Florida Panthers for the last wild-card spot.

“That’s the goal, for every match to count and to accumulate every point possible for the remainder of the season,” Chabot expressed. “It’s exciting where we currently stand, and we are concentrated on our objectives.”

The Senators recently secured a gratifying 5-0 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday afternoon, a victory that snapped a four-game winless streak (0-3-1).

“We need to regain our confidence,” Ottawa forward Shane Pinto stated. “We had some of it during the West Coast road trip in December. We lost it for a while. Hopefully, this win bolsters our self-belief.”

Leevi Merilainen achieved 29 saves against Pittsburgh resulting in his first NHL shutout, hence veteran Anton Forsberg is expected to be in goal against the Stars.

Forsberg holds a record of 1-2-2 in five previous starts against Dallas with a .889 save percentage and a 2.94 goals-against average.

Casey DeSmith is anticipated to commence the second half of the back-to-back for Dallas. He maintains a record of 4-2-2 in eight lifetime starts against the Senators with a .916 save percentage and a 2.64 GAA.

The Senators could be short a couple of forwards when facing the Stars.

Noah Gregor was sidelined against the Penguins due to a lower-body injury sustained in a 4-0 defeat against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, and Cole Reinhardt encountered an upper-body injury during the second period against the Penguins and did not return.

–Field Level Media