| Texas Stars 46-17-3-6, 101 pts #1 Western Conference | at | San Antonio Rampage 29-34-3-6, 67 pts #14 Western Conference |
April 12th at 7:00 PM
AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX
Looking for their eleventh straight win, Texas takes the show on the road to visit the San Antonio Rampage on their home turf. Last night's contest in Cedar Park ended the Rampage's road schedule. They will play all four remaining games at the AT&T Center. Tonight and tomorrow's games will be a makeup of the military appreciation weekend, which was cancelled by the poor ice conditions game on March 1st.
With a win, Texas will secure the top seed in the Western Conference. That could also happen if Grand Rapids loses to Charlotte, regardless of the outcome of the Texas game tonight.
With Dallas having sealed up their first playoff bid since the inaurgural season of the Texas Stars, how exactly does this work for the rest of the way? We don't really have a point of reference for how the NHL club will manage its roster in the playoffs. First off, it seems likely that Dallas would scratch top players like Benn and Seguin for the inconsequential game on Sunday. Who gets a call as a result? Curtis McKenzie? Brett Ritchie? Why not? There are three remaining non-emergency callups before the playoffs. Why not use them all? Dallas has done similar things in the past. They called up Dillon and Glennie at the end of 2011-12 to play a single game in the NHL.
After the regular season ends, there is no limit on player transactions. Will Dallas choose to hold onto just 12, 13, even 14 forwards and 8 or 9 defensemen? Seems reasonable. If Aaron Rome comes back into the picture, does Nemeth return to Texas? Maybe, but maybe not. There are some question to ask for sure. It will all be sorted out over the next week though as Texas winds down the season and the Stanley Cup playoffs begin.
Sounds like Nilstorp gets the start tonight for Texas.
Stars injury/call up report:
Mueller (call up)
Petersen (questionable)
Website: sarampage.com
Blog (unofficial): Rampage with Tony U.
Blog (unofficial): Runnin' With The Herd
Twitter: @SARampage
Twitter: @DanWeissPBP (play-by-play for SA)
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