Panthers @ Stars

Who will WIN this matchup?

Florida Panthers (20-9-4)

@ Dallas Stars (11-11-8)

Starting Goalies:

Sergei Bobrovsky (FLA): Confirmed

Anton Khudobin (DAL): Confirmed

Current odds:

Florida Panthers: (+110)

Dallas Stars: (-130)

• After getting off to a late start to the season due to a COVID-19 outbreak that saw 17 players test positive in training camp, the Dallas Stars find themselves seven points behind fourth-place Chicago and the final Central Division playoff spot but with four games still in hand entering Saturday night’s home game with the Florida Panthers.

• And thanks to Thursday night’s 4-3 victory over defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay, the team’s first win in five games against the Lightning this season, the Stars also have some much-needed momentum heading into the key weekend back-to-back with the Panthers. With a little over six weeks left in the regular-season, Dallas coach Rick Bowness said his squad, which lost to Tampa Bay in last year’s Stanley Cup Final, needs to get on a roll if it hopes to return to the playoffs.

• Dallas improved to 1-3-1 in five meetings with the first-place Lightning, with one of the losses coming in a shootout and another by a 2-1 score on Tuesday.

• Roope Hintz broke a 3-3 tie with 1:21 left in the third period and Jake Oettinger made 24 saves as Dallas snapped Tampa Bay’s five-game winning streak and also its 12-game regular-season point streak (9-0-3) against the Stars. It also ended a 12-game winning streak by Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy.

• After facing the third-place Panthers on Saturday and Sunday, Dallas hits the road for six games with back-to-backs against Nashville, Carolina and Chicago. The Stars still have four games remaining with Chicago, all on the road — including the final two games of the regular season.

• Florida comes in after getting swept in two road games by the Blackhawks, including a 3-0 loss on Thursday. The Panthers still hold a seven-point lead over Chicago for third place with a game in hand, but are just 1-4-0 in their last five games, scoring just eight goals in the process. Florida was blanked by the Blackhawks despite firing 41 shots on rookie goaltender Kevin Lankinen.

• Despite a three-game losing streak, Florida is still just six points behind first-place Tampa Bay. And there’s a chance that the Panthers could get captain and top scorer Aleksander Barkov (lower-body injury) back this weekend.