Red-hot Stars ready for Blackhawks

The Dallas Stars will try to increase their winning streak to six games when they host the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night.

Dallas is coming off Thursday's 5-3 win over the Winnipeg Jets that extended a run during which the Stars have outscored opponents 23-11 and have scored at least four goals in all but the first game (a 3-1 win in Calgary).

"There's never any quit in our team," Stars captain Jamie Benn recently told reporters.

Chicago wants to be resilient, too, but it has lost back-to-back games on home ice against the Carolina Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning. Chicago is averaging two goals in the past two games after scoring four-plus in each of its previous four contests, all wins.

A recent lineup change did not seem to help matters for the Blackhawks. The team went with seven defensemen and only 11 forwards in its most recent game against the Lightning -- that led to questions in the locker room after a 4-2 loss.

"I mean, things were going pretty good with four lines and the lineup that we had," Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews told reporters after pausing to collect his thoughts. "You'll have to ask the coaches on that one."

Chicago is led in scoring by Patrick Kane, who has 29 points (11 goals, 18 assists) in his first 22 games. Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Strome are tied for second on the scoring list with 17 points apiece, while Brandon Saad is fourth with 13 points.

Dallas' top scorer is Tyler Seguin, who has 19 points (six goals, 13 assists) in 23 games. Miro Heiskanen has 17 points (six goals, 11 assists), and Benn rounds out the top three scorers with 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in his 11th NHL season.

Radek Faksa also has contributed to the Stars' offense with six goals and six assists in his first 23 games.

"I think Radek's playing to his strengths," Dallas coach Jim Montgomery told reporters. "He's getting on top of pucks in the offensive zone, he's putting people on his back, he's getting to scoring areas and owning that net front. That's the strength of his game."

The Blackhawks could turn back to Robin Lehner in net after fellow veteran Corey Crawford absorbed the loss in the team's most recent game. Lehner is 5-4-2 with a 2.52 goals-against average and .934 save percentage on the season. In nine career games against Dallas, he is only 2-5-1 with a 3.87 GAA and an .883 save percentage.

The Stars' top option in net is Ben Bishop, who attended high school a few hours south of Chicago in St. Louis. Bishop is 8-5-1 with a 2.25 GAA and .926 save percentage in 16 starts this season. He is 8-2-1 against the Blackhawks in his career with a 2.22 GAA and .927 save percentage.

Chicago is 6-5-2 at home this season. Dallas is 6-5-1 on the road.

This is the first of four meetings between the teams. The Stars will visit Chicago on Tuesday night, host the Blackhawks on Feb. 23 and return to Chicago on March 27 to close out the regular-season series.

--Field Level Media