Red-Hot Bruins Bring a Winning Streak Into Dallas
Boston rides five straight wins into a Stars barn where Oettinger has made goals scarce and scoring has been Dallas's own headache.
Written before the game
Boston arrives in Dallas as one of the hottest teams in hockey, winners of five straight and sitting first in the Atlantic at 7-2-0 with a +15 goal differential. Dallas is 4-3-1, holding the second wild-card spot in the West on a two-game winning streak.
The hidden story is that Boston's record looks better than its game. The Bruins have created good chances, about 3.04 expected goals a night (how many goals their chances were worth). But they have also given up more than they create, and opponents have outshot them on average, 59.3 attempts to 53. Boston has been winning games it has not controlled.
Dallas is the opposite. The Stars have allowed the fewest dangerous looks of the two teams, about 2.68 expected goals against per game, while outshooting opponents 55.9 to 53.1. Jake Oettinger has three shutouts, the latest a 4-0 win over Chicago.
For Boston to keep scoring, its finishers have to keep burying the chances it gets against a team that hands out few. For Dallas, the issue is the other end: the Stars have not been scoring much, and they will need Arttu Hyry and Jason Robertson to make Boston pay for the shots it allows.
