• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Blue Jackets eye 3-0 start in clash with Stars

Oct 14, 2014 - 3:07 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Columbus Blue Jackets and Dallas Stars both entered this season expecting to be teams on the rise. So far, only the Blue Jackets are showing it.

Columbus takes aims at a 3-0 start to the season when it hosts the winless Stars at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday.

The Blue Jackets made the playoffs for just the second time in club history last spring while setting franchise records for wins (43) and points (93). Although Columbus lost in the opening round to Pittsburgh, the team did earn its first two playoff victories in the series and is hoping to build upon that postseason experience in 2014-15.

Columbus began the season with a road win at Buffalo and then slammed the visiting New York Rangers by a 5-2 score on Saturday. Cam Atkinson notched a pair of goals to help the Jackets upend the defending Eastern Conference champions in the home opener at Nationwide Arena.

Nick Foligno and rookie Marko Dano each added a goal an assist against New York. Former Ranger Artem Anisimov also scored to support a 24-save effort from Sergei Bobrovsky.

The Blue Jackets set the tone Saturday with a strong opening period. Columbus recorded a pair of goals and also received 10 saves from a sharp Bobrovsky. New York was never able to recover from that point, as the Jackets held the lead the rest of the way.

"We did a lot of things at the start of the game that will allow us to have success," said Blue Jackets head coach Todd Richards. "I like the way we stuck at it out there in all areas."

Bobrovsky expects to get the start again as Columbus plays the middle test of a three-game homestand, a residency that is set to end Friday against Calgary.

After making the playoffs last spring for the first time since 2008, Dallas also entered 2014-15 with the promise of better days ahead. Instead, Lindy Ruff's team has begun slowly with just three goals during an 0-1-1 start to the season.

The Stars, who acquired centerman Jason Spezza in a blockbuster trade during the offseason, earned a point in Thursday's 3-2 shootout loss against visiting Chicago but then fell 4-1 in Nashville on Saturday.

Dallas scored its only goal Saturday at 7:14 of the first period. Nashville tied the game late in the second on a Shea Weber goal and Paul Gaustad put the Predators ahead for good at 8:33 of the third period.

Antoine Roussel potted the lone Dallas goal and Anders Lindback, a former Predator, stopped 29-of-32 shots in the loss.

The Stars are looking for their big guns to break out in the third game of the season. Spezza has recorded one assist in his first two games with Dallas, while fellow forwards Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin have yet to record a point on the young season.

Ruff said there's a possibility he'll tinker with the forward lines to try and get his offense on track.

"It's something we want to look at," the Stars coach said Monday. "I was really happy with the effort and everything that went into game one. Game two, not so much. With matchups on the road, it might give me some different options. I told those guys it is something I want to look at in practice and we'll see where we are when we get on the road."

The Stars also could be without forward Valeri Nichushkin, who is questionable after sustaining a lower-body injury in Saturday's loss.

Kari Lehtonen is likely to get the start in net for Dallas tonight as it plays the middle test of a three-game road trip. The Stars No. 1 goaltender is 5-5-1 with a 1.91 goals against average and .936 save percentage in 11 career outings against Columbus.

The Blue Jackets have won three straight and four of the last five meetings against Dallas, and the Stars have dropped two of their past three tilts at Nationwide Arena.