Game #47 - at Dallas Stars

Pittsburgh Penguins (21-17-8, 50 pts) at Dallas Stars (29-18-1, 59 pts)

The Pens haven't won in Dallas since 1995. Of course, it helps that they almost never go there to play, especially with the new schedule. Still, nearly 12 years is a long time to have no wins. Hopefully that will change tonight. The chances, however, aren't that great.

The Stars don't score very much (they're near the bottom of the league), but they also don't allow many goals. They've allowed the third fewest goals in the NHL. Couple that with a good penalty kill and decent power play, and you have a recipe for trouble.

The Pens need to keep the ball rolling. Getting three or four points between tonight and tomorrow would be a great way to start the second half of the year. Tonight is the night to go for two points. The Stars have only one loss in OT, and that was in a shootout. They're 17-2 in shootouts (5-1 this year), so the Pens need to finish this one off in regulation.

Sergei Zubov will be back tonight for the Stars. I always related Zubie to those "Beware the Penguins" commercials back in the 90s when he was here in Pittsburgh.

Stars blog - I'd love to point you to a good Stars blog that talked about tonight's game. Unfortunately, the only one that has a preview is for subscribers only. That's right - a hockey blog that wants you to pay to read the content. I'm not begrudging the guy anything - if he can make it work, more power to him. So instead, check out the blogs at DallasStarsForever. Nothing specific about tonight's game, but some decent writing.

I'm looking for a strong road effort with lots of energy to start the second half. These guys have to show that they want it. They playoffs are a legitimate goal for this team.

Let's Go Pens!