Stars at Sabres: Benn Six Points From 1,000 in Buffalo
Dallas captain Jamie Benn opens a two-game road trip at 994 career points, while Buffalo's Owen Power brings a three-game point streak into Thursday's matchup.
Jamie Benn can get within touching distance of 1,000 career points when the Dallas Stars visit the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday. He enters the game at 994 (415 goals, 579 assists), six shy of the milestone.
When he gets there, he will be the second player in franchise history to reach 1,000 points with the Stars. He is also pacing to become the second fifth-round pick in NHL history to get there. Against Buffalo, Benn has 23 points in 27 games.
The Stars arrive off a 5-0 win over San Jose on Monday, after scoring one goal and going 0-for-5 on the power play in their first two games. Benn, Jason Robertson, Joel Kiviranta and Mikko Rantanen were among five different scorers. Benn admitted he heard the home fans booing the power play earlier in the week and said, "Our fans are passionate, that's why they're the best."
There is a roster hit. Kiviranta blocked a shot Monday, suffered a lower-body injury and will miss the two-game road trip, possibly for a week. Colin Blackwell is expected to step in. With a tight cap and Matt Duchene injured, Dallas has just one extra skater, defenceman Kyle Capobianco.
Buffalo has its own storyline on the back end. Owen Power scored his first goal of the season in overtime Tuesday against Minnesota and carries a three-game point streak, with five points (one goal, four assists) to lead the Sabres. He is the eighth defenceman in Sabres history to record an assist in the team's first three games.
Neither power play has scored yet. Dallas is 0-for-8 and Buffalo is 0-for-10.
