NHL Game of the Week: Boston Bruins vs. Dallas Stars

One of the more anticipated matchups this week, it will feature two teams that are at a similar position within the standings in their respective divisions at the start of their season facing off once more, the Boston Bruins and the Dallas Stars.

Both Dallas and Boston had made the playoffs last season. The Stars would go as far as the Western Conference Finals while the Bruins would only get as far as Round 2 before being eliminated by the eventual champion, the Florida Panthers.

Boston will be going on the road this week to the American Airlines Center to meet Dallas on their home ice.

These teams have already met each other this season when they faced off at the end of October. The Stars would come out of that game with a win over the Bruins that went 5-2 in favor of Dallas.

Dallas is coming off of a blowout victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on the road, picking up a huge amount of momentum with a final score of 7-1. Six of their seven goals happened within the first period of the game.

While a high-scoring game like that continues to show the defensive struggles of Pittsburgh, it showed how strong the Stars can be as an offensive unit.

With an offensive arsenal such as Matt Duchene, Mason Marchment, Logan Stankoven as well as others, the Stars have made a case to be a team that can make the playoffs yet again.

From one set of black, gold and white jerseys to another, the Bruins have had an on-and-off season. Boston has not been able to maintain a consistent win streak thus far weeks into the beginning of the season.

Boston has been an unpredictable team this year as they can either hit you hard offensively or suffer defensively.

It’s currently a tight race within the Atlantic Division with no clear favorite, so any win is crucial for a team like Boston right now to get an early advantage over their division rivals and remain in the top four.

A win against Dallas could cement themselves as a team to be seen more as a threat going forward throughout the rest of the season.

Boston managed to win their last game in a close one against the St. Louis Blues, so both teams will have positive momentum heading into this upcoming matchup looking to continue their win streak.

The Stars have a difficult division to keep up with teams like the Winnipeg Jets being on such a roll at the top of the division and the Minnesota Wild being close behind them.

This may be more motivation for them to win in general knowing that their division is going to be more difficult to clinch.

This will be the last time that these teams are scheduled to go up against each other this season unless they both manage to reach the Stanley Cup Finals.

Will Dallas send the Bruins back home in defeat or can Boston manage to even the score to 1-1 in the Lone Star State?

Hudson Hvizdak is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email hph5358@psu.edu.