Dallas is going the other way while missing plenty of its own lineup. The Stars split 2 games with Colorado, winning 3-2 in Denver, then shut out Chicago 4-0. Most recently they trailed Boston at both intermissions, tied it in the 3rd and won 3-2 in overtime. They've allowed 2 goals or fewer in 4 of their last 5. Two of those games were 1-goal games they won, and that's the gap between them and Winnipeg right now.
The Stars beat Boston without Esa Lindell, and they'll be without him again Thursday. He hurt himself blocking a shot against Chicago, and Glen Gulutzan said he's out 'a week for sure, then we'll go day to day after that.' Lindell has been averaging 20:49 a night, 3rd on the team, and leads Dallas with 18 blocked shots. Up front, Matt Duchene is out about 3 months after core surgery and Oskar Back is out 4-6 weeks with a broken finger, so the center depth is getting tested too.
The game comes down to whether Winnipeg's shot volume finally gets through a Dallas blue line missing its best shot-blocker. If the Jets can turn the pucks they threw at Hofer into goals against a reshuffled Stars defense, their skid probably doesn't make it out of Texas. If not, Dallas has spent all month winning tight, low-scoring games, and that's exactly the kind of game Winnipeg has been losing. Puck drop is 7:00 PM CT on Thursday, October 22.