Gameday Preview: Texas Stars at Ontario Reign, Game 4

Texas Stars 38-24-8-6, 90 pts, 0.592 #2 Pacific Division

at

Ontario Reign 36-25-4-3, 79 pts, 0.581 #3 Pacific Division

April 24th at 9:00 PM

Citizens Business Bank Arena, Ontario, CA

Texas leads 2-1

On Tuesday night, the Texas Stars have a chance to win their first playoff series since the 2014 Calder Cup run. Don't expect the Ontario Reign to go quietly. The Stars have had to log each of their wins in the best-of-five series during extended play, the most recent coming in double overtime on Sunday. Samuel Laberge was the unlikely hero, scoring the game winner, but Mike McKenna was beastly.

(Credit: Andy Nietupski/Texas Stars)

Stopping all 44 shots he faced in relief of the struggling Landon Bow, McKenna recaptured the poise and consistency he displayed in game one. Expect Coach Laxdal to opt for the sure thing in net. As opposed to the game two fiasco that had the Stars chasing the entire game, Texas was able to come back from a two goal deficit on Sunday with balanced scoring throughout the lineup. As team leader Brian Flynn noted, multiple lines chipping in will be critical for continued success.

Travis Morin, who isn't taking anything for granted towards the end of his career, notched his second goal of the playoffs in game three. Another positive sign was the two point game from Justin Dowling (1 G, 1 A), who had a rough start to the series. On the other side of the ledger, Reign center Mike Amadio also got going with a three point game, bringing his series total to four.

Jason Dickinson, still recovering from a lower body injury, did play in Sunday's game, recording five shots on goal. He played in a number of situations, starting the game on the left wing and also logging some minutes at center. Look for Laxdal to strategically manage his minutes on Tuesday night as the two-way forward will be needed at full strength should the Stars advance.

The puck drops at 9:00 PM CDT.

Stars injury/call up report:
Fyten (questionable)

Website: ontarioreign.com
Twitter: @ontarioreign
Coverage: Reign coverage via Jewels from the Crown