Gameday Preview: Stars v. Oklahoma City Barons

Texas Stars
28-13-4-4, 64 pts
#1 Western Conference
v.Oklahoma City Barons
23-18-2-4, 52 pts
#10 Western Conference
Feburary 15th at 7:30 PM
Cedar Park Center, Cedar Park, TX

Texas really wants these games. After a disappointing stretch here where they've left some points on the table against lower-tier competition, the Stars definitely are looking for a solid outing against the Barons.

The Barons, of course, are not the same Barons that the Cedar Park faithful saw on December 27th, their last visit to the Austin suburb. Six of their top seven scorers on the season are gone to Edmonton. Also gone are centers Anton Lander and Chris VandeVelde, each with ten points and both needed for their pivot position in Alberta.

The club has been getting on fine since the lockout ended. The lethal club was in ninth place the last time these two played, the week after the lockout ended, and has only dropped to ten in the past few weeks. The Barons have scored with facility all season but are having trouble keeping the puck out of their net as well.

However, they are winners in their last three and four of their last five. That one loss was to Charlotte and only by a goal. As mentioned yesterday, the Stars are in first place and that means all teams, especially bubble teams like OKC, are going to put their sights on Texas.

A recent revelation for the Barons has been the addition of former Rocket Richard winner Jonathan Cheechoo. He has played in five games and has five goals and seven assists already. That includes two power play goals, two power play assists and a game-winner to kick start their current win streak.

The long and short of it is that the Barons are not pushovers, but two points tonight and two more tomorrow would be very helpful toward the cause.

Stars injury/call up report:
Vincour, R. Smith, Roussel (call up)
Glennie, Morin, Sceviour (injured)

Website: okcbarons.com
Blog (unofficial): NewsOK's Barons Hockey
Twitter: @OKCBaronsHockey

Comments

  1. It's pretty important to beat these guys and keep them out of the playoffs. They turn into another team (because the Oilers wont make the NHL playoffs) if they make it into the Calder Cup playoffs. Letting them slip in would be a big mistake.

    ReplyDelete

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