Gameday Preview: Stars at Toronto Marlies

Texas Stars 27-13-4-3, 61 pts #1 Western Conference

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Toronto Marlies 25-15-2-2, 54 pts #5 Western Conference

February 10th at 2:00 PM

Ricoh Coliseum, Toronto, ON

The second and final matchup between these two clubs this season come in a matinee game at the Ricoh this afternoon. After facing the Bulldogs last night and losing on an extremely rare, 200-foot own goal, the Stars are looking to bounce back in more ways than one. Obviously, they would like to have a better showing than last night but they would also surely like to improve on their last game against the Marlies, a 3-0 home loss early in the season.

That was a different team. Still a bit rudderless overall, the club hadn't settled in quite yet. Texas dropped to 3-6 with that loss and had been shutout twice in just nine games after racing through the preseason unbeaten. The Stars are clearly in a different spot now.

The Marlies have also turned things about a little. Ranked at #11 in their last matchup, Toronto is ranked #5 now but has four teams two points or less behind them in the standings. Every point counts to stay in contention.

Like many clubs, the Marlies' roster shows a number of red Xs next to top scorers' names. For Toronto, the Leafs have called upon Keith Aucoin, Mike Kostka, Nazem Kadri, Matt Frattin and Korbinian Holzer. Leo Komarov, who spurred the Marlies win in Cedar Park with two goals, played for a time with the KHL's Mosocow Dynamo but is now also on the Maple Leafs. Ryan Hamilton, who also scored against Texas in the last game, leads active Marlies in scoring with 19-10-29 in 40 GP.

In net, Ben Scrivens has been called to the NHL and it's Jussi Rynnas and Mark Owuya in the pipes. Scrivens was the mainstay, going 14-7-1. Rynnas and Owuya have a combined 11-10-1 record.

The Marlies are finishing a four game homestand with this game against Texas. Previously, they split two games with Hamilton and beat Chicago last night 4-2.

Stars injury/call up report:
Glennie (hand)
Morin (questionable, upper body)

Website: torontomarlies.com
Blog (official): Bart's Bytes
Twitter: @TorontoMarlies
Twitter (coach): @dallaseakins