It may be a little too soon to call division games in January “must win”, but whatever the closest phrase to that is, that’s what Saturday’s game was for the Dallas Stars against the Colorado Avalanche.

The Dallas Stars are surging up the Western Conference, and should target Brock Nelson to help replace Tyler Seguin in the lineup.

Alex Newhook’s deflection broke a tie midway through the third period and unbeaten rookie Jakub Dobes made 32 saves as the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Dallas Stars 3-1.

The Stars have earned points in four of their last five games against the Hurricanes at American Airlines Center (3-1-1). Since the start of the 2020-21 season, Dallas has a .533 point percentage against Carolina which ranks second in the NHL (min. 10 GP).

Keep an eye on Matt Duchene and Martin Necas in particular on Tuesday, when the Dallas Stars meet the Carolina Hurricanes at American Airlines Center, with the puck dropping at 8:00 PM ET. Purchase tickets for this game at StubHub!

Jason Robertson had one of three first-period goals plus a third-period assist and Jake Oettinger made 33 saves as the Dallas Stars beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 on Sunday night.

Stars goalie Oettinger in his regular-season career is 5-3-1 against the Avalanche with a 3.05 GAA and a .914 save percentage. Dallas ranks 31st in the league in hits per game at 14.2. Colorado ranks 27th at 18.6.

DALLAS — Logan Stankoven is more than halfway through his rookie season in the NHL and his Dallas Stars are among the top teams in the ultra-competitive Western Conference. The 5-foot-8 forward from Kamloops has six goals and 23 points in 42 games this season.

When the Dallas Stars rolled into town last weekend, the Montreal Canadiens had a three-game winning streak going, but Peter DeBoer's men put an end to it with a 2-1 shootout win. Five days later, the Habs will be looking for revenge.

The Dallas Stars return home after going 4-1 on their five-game road trip, which included a matchup against Thursday’s opponent, the Montreal Canadiens. Dallas has won eight of its last nine games and will look to continue that hot streak against Montreal at the American Airlines Center, where the Stars have dominated their home ice this season.

"A pleasure to play for him right from Day 1," Stars forward Matt Duchene said. "He pushes guys, he barks a little bit at times, but it's never personal and the message is usually accurate. His X's and O's are really elite. Tough to find many flaws."

Agent Allan Walsh says the salary cap ceiling will be $97M, higher than the initial $92.5M projection. If true, what can the Devils do with that extra space?