Dallas Stars v Chicago Blackhawks Live

Despite a rather slow start into this year’s NHL campaign, the Stars managed to make their way back to the playoff race four months into the season. Hoping to make another step towards a post-season appearance, Brad Richards and company will head to Chicago to face the Blackhawks at United Center on Wednesday at 1:30 a.m. GMT.

Unlike the Stars, the Hawks are not worried about making it to the playoffs, but are still battling for the number one overall seed in the Western Conference. Posting an outstanding 37-15-4 record, Chicago leads the Central division and has certainly been looking like a potential Stanley Cup contender so far. Showing excellent efforts on both ends of the ice, the Blackhawks turned out to be one of the most balanced teams up to this point. Offensively, the franchise from Illinois was led by right wing Patrick Kane who recorded 22 goals and 39 assists for a total of 61 points.

In contrast, Dallas is far away from dreaming of a championship title and would be thrilled to clinch the eight playoff spot down the stretch. Trailing the eight seeded Calgary Flames by just three points, they are certainly within striking distance but might have to tighten up their defense in the remaining two months of play. So far, the Stars allowed their opponents to score nearly 3.2 goals per contest while turning the puck over far too often. At the other end of the ice, Brad Richards is having another great year as the veteran center scored 17 goals and dished out 44 assists in 55 appearances. Taking everything into account, the Hawks will obviously enter their encounter with the Stars as favorites to come away with a home-win but should not underestimate the team from Texas. Even though Dallas might not have been particularly consistent defensively, they have shown that they can be a tough match-up for anyone in the league on a good night.

You can watch all games of the Dallas Stars and Chicago Blackhawks right here on www.watchlivenhl.com, the home of NHL live streaming.

Posted: 18th October 2009

Although the Blackhawks started the season slow with a loss versus the Panthers on opening night, they have been performing extremely well ever since. Holding on to a 3-1-1 record, the Hawks are hoping to take advantage of their prolonged homestand early in the season and will take on the struggling Dallas Stars on Sunday at 0:30 a.m. GMT.

Without any doubts, the Blackhawks have underlined that they are team to be reckoned with in 2009-10 and showed a lot of spirit as they rallied back from being down five goals versus the Flames to clinch a clutch shootout win. Thus far, Chicago showcased a great offense that managed to find the net 19 times in just five games. Franchise centerpieces Patrick Sharp and Patrick Kane already scored 7 points each and caused a lot of problems for their opponents in the first two weeks of play. However, things are not going as smoothly on the other end of the ice for the Hawks. Even though Chicago’s defensive lines did not play particularly bad, goaltending has been a significant issue. In fact, goaltender Cristobal Huet allowed 3.69 goals per game and posted an unsatisfying .831 save percentage.

The Dallas Stars on the other hand are coming off a sub par start into the 2009-10 season. Although Brad Richards and company did not play bad at all, they have only win to show for their efforts. More specifically, the Stars were tied in every game after 60 minutes but lost three out of four overtime showdowns. Thus, it remains to be seen whether these frustrating losses will have any measurable impact on their team spirit when they face the Blackhawks. Ultimately, Chicago appears to be everyone’s favorite to clinch a win on Sunday but Dallas could make things difficult for the team around Patrick Kane if they play up to their potential.

You can watch all games of the Dallas Stars and Chicago Blackhawks right here on www.watchlivenhl.com, the home of NHL live streaming.