Texas Stars: Media Notes
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Texas Stars: Media Notes A GRAND ENTRANCE After winning three straight games, the Texas Stars (3-2-0-1) now have their eyes focused on a four-game road trip that begins with a morning tilt against the Chicago Wolves (2-3-1-0). The Stars drop the puck at 11 a.m. from Allstate Arena, their fifth time in team history facing the Wolves in a game before noon. The Stars hold a 31-16-2-3 all-time record against the Wolves and are 16-7-0-3 when playing in Rosemont, Illinois. The Wolves qualified for the 2019 Calder Cup Playoffs and worked their way to the Calder Cup Final, falling to the Charlotte Checkers in the series 4-1. HEAD-TO-HEAD SCHEDULE (0-0-0-0) October 23 – Texas at Chicago 11:00 AM CST January 24 – Chicago at Texas 7:00 PM CST December 21 – Texas at Chicago 7:00 PM CST January 25 – Chicago at Texas 7:00 PM CST December 22 – Texas at Chicago 3:00 PM CST March 20 – Chicago at Texas 7:00 PM CST January 2 – Texas at Chicago 7:00 PM CST March 21 – Chicago at Texas 7:00 PM CST TODAY’S CENTRAL DIVISION GAMES (1) Milwaukee at Grand Rapids – 7:00 PM EST PLAYERS TO WATCH - Texas: After the Dallas Stars were decimated by injuries on opening night, center Rhett Gardner joined the NHL club and now returns for his first AHL game this season. He finished the 2018-19 season with five points (4-1=5) in the final 11 games of the year after his senior season at the University of North Dakota. In his four years with the Fighting Hawks, Gardner earned 74 points (34- 40=74) in 149 games. This year, he has played seven NHL games for Dallas. - Chicago: Former Texas captain Curtis McKenzie leads the Wolves as the top returning scorer. He scored 54 points (20-34=54) in 71 AHL games while logging a team leading 112 PIMS. The physical forward was also tied for the team lead in the post season with 15 points (8-7=15) in 21 games. McKenzie has produced 247 points (104-143=247) in 300 AHL games over his career, coupled with an additional 53 points (24-29=53) in 73 playoff games. The 28 year old is also the second oldest player on the roster behind Tye McGinn. LAST TIME OUT - Texas: Saturday, Oct. 19 – The Stars took a 3-0 win over Grand Rapids in a goaltending duel that featured Jake Oettinger and Filip Larsson. The Stars opened the scoring in the first period on a battle in the crease from Parker MacKay. Through the second period and first half of the third period. Joel Kiviranta scored and then Gavin Bayreuther tallied on the empty net. Neither team found the net on the power play as Oettinger stopped all 28 shots while Larsson ended his second pro start with 18 saves. - Chicago: Sunday, Oct. 20 – The Wolves took Sunday’s game against Milwaukee 3-2 in the shootout. After surrendering a 2-0 lead in the first period, the Wolves countered with a pair of goals from Patrick Brown to even the score in the second period. Dylan Ferguson made 35 saves including eight saves in the third period and three in overtime. The rookie netminder also made both saves in the shootout while brown and Gage Quinney each notched goals to earn the win. GREAT TIME FOR A FIRST - Rookie forward Parker MacKay scored his first career goal on Saturday, netting the eventual game-winning goal during the first period. The winger has the lone game-winner this year for the Stars. MacKay finished his collegiate career with 70 points (37-33=70) in 136 NCAA games and won back-to-back national championships at University of Minnesota-Duluth in 2018 and 2019. REINFORCEMENTS INBOUND - Tuesday afternoon, the Stars received Rhett Gardner and Joel Hanley from Dallas. The two have played only one combined game in the AHL this year but have logged a combined nine games in the NHL. Hanley recorded his first assist with the Dallas Stars against Calgary while Gardner made his NHL debut on Oct. 5, 2019 against St. Louis. Hanley has played in 40 career NHL games with 18 played for the Stars. STREAK OF ZERO - Goaltender Jake Oettinger earned his first career shutout on Saturday night, topping the Griffins 3-0. Oettinger is now riding a shutout streak of 65:51 dating back to Oct. 11, 2019. The netminder improved to 1-1-1 with a 2.61 goals against average and .921 save percentage after making 28 stops on Saturday. In his three seasons at Boston University, Oettinger tied the school record with 13 shutouts. Oettinger’s shutout was the first by a Stars goaltender since Philippe Desrosiers on Feb. 15, 2019 against the Tucson Roadrunners. TWO HEADED SNAKE - The Stars netminders have combined for 190 saves on 205 shots in the first six games of the year. The tandem has combined for a .927 save percentage and 2.40 goals against average. They are tied for sixth best in the AHL for save percentage and tied for ninth in goals against. Bow leads the league with two wins in the shootout, while Oettinger is one of seven goaltenders with a shutout. KIV AND TAKE - First-year AHL forward Joel Kiviranta scored his first AHL goal on Saturday, launching a wrist shot from the blue line into the net. In six games, he tallied three points (1-2=3) with the Stars. The winger is in his first season in North America after playing five seasons in Finland’s top league, Liiga. In those years, the 23-year old produced 114 points (60-54=114) in 261 games. RELOADING THE BARREL - Without the likes of Daniel Carr, T.J. Tynan and Brooks Macek to frontload the offense, the Wolves have needed to look elsewhere for offense. The front runner for the Wolves has been 20-year old rookie Lucas Elvenes, who leads the team with nine points (3-6=9) in six games and is tied for second in the AHL. The winger from Angelholm, Sweden stormed onto the scene in his pro debut, notching four points in the Wolves home opener, an 8-5 defeat to Grand Rapids. The 2017 fifth-round draft pick produced 20 points (3-17=20) in 42 games in the SHL last year. SPARKS IGNIGHT - Goaltender Garret Sparks has played four of the Wolves five games and is 1-2-1 to start the season with a .931 save percentage and 2.18 goals against average. He has faced at least 33 shots in three of his four games and has made 122 saves already this year. The netminder bested the Stars in the 2018 Calder Cup Finals, playing in all seven games. The seventh-year netminder has held an 81-30-6 record in the AHL with 15 shutouts, a 2.13 GAA and .927 SV%. ADDITIONAL TEAM FACTS - Landon Bow’s career best performance of 41 saves came against the Chicago Wolves on Feb. 27 2018 in a 4-3 shootout loss. - Gavin Bayreuther recorded the only three-point game of his career on Oct. 7, 2017 against the Chicago. - Diego Cuglietta made his pro debut against the Wolves on Mar. 22, 2019. - The Stars are 1-1-0-2 against the Wolves in morning games, winning their only game on Jan. 12, 2011. - The Stars’ season high win streak in 2018-19 was four straight victories, achieved twice during the year. The team’s season long point streak was six games (5-0-1-0) from Dec. 2 to Dec. 15. UPCOMING MILESTONES - Dillon Heatherington | 49 Points (TEX) - *Gavin Bayreuther | 145 GP & 49 Assists (TEX) - Adam Mascherin | 47 Points - Conner Bleackley | 50 Assists - Tanner Kero | 275 GP & 96 Assists - **Landon Bow | 53 Wins (TEX) *Two games from tying Dan Spang and Cameron Gaunce for eighth among defensemen in team history. **Team record is 56 career wins set by Jack Campbell. TEXAS STARS IN DALLAS (2019-20) - *Denis Gurianov – 7 GP | 0-1=1 - Nicholas Caamano – 6 GP | 1-0=1 - Rhett Gardner – 7 GP | 0-0=0 - Joel L’Esperance – 3 GP | 1-0=1 - Joel Hanley – 2 GP | 0-1=1 TOTAL NHL MAN GAMES: 25 GP | 2-2=4 *On Dallas Stars Active Roster DALLAS STARS RECORD: 3-7-1 | Last Game: Oct. 21 – Dallas 2 vs. Ottawa 1 CURRENT STREAKS Team Streaks Goals Assists Points Wins: 3 | 10/12 MacKay – 1GP | 1G Scarlett – 2GP | 2A Scarlett – 2GP | 1G,2A Losses: Kiviranta – 1GP | 1G Djuse – 1GP | 2A Bleackley, Bayreuther – 1GP | 1G,1A OT / SO Losses: Bayreuther – 1GP | 1G Bleackley, Kero – 1GP | 1A Kiviranta – 1GP | 1G,1A Winless: Djuse – 1GP | 2A Points: 4 | 10/11 MacKay – 1GP | 1G Kero – 1GP | 1A 2018-19 HEAD-TO-HEAD MATCHUP Series Record Leading Scorer Power Play Texas Stars: 2-5-1-0 E. Condra – 3-7=10 (8/30) 26.7% Chicago Wolves: 6-2-0-0 D. Carr – 5-4=9 (10/25) 40.0% HOME / ROAD SPLITS, REGULAR SEASON Record Power Play Penalty Kill Texas Stars (Away): 1-0-0-1 (1/13) 7.7% (T-22nd) (1/11) 90.9% (5th) Chicago Wolves (Home): 1-1-1-0 (3/10) 30.0% (2nd) (3/9) 66.7% (T-26th) Texas Stars: Player Notes #3 Dillon HEATHERINGTON (VE) – 5th AHL Season / 4th TEX Season … Signed a one-year, two-way contract extension with the NHL's Dallas Stars on July 9, 2019… Named the seventh captain in Texas team history on Oct.