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Flyers-Stars: At a glance

Stars coach and former Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock was denied his 800th victory in the Stars 5-2 loss to New Jersey Friday night. He'll try again tonight. He won 131 games in his three-plus seasons as Flyers coach.

Flyers coach Dave Hakstol, with Jake Voracek (left) and Claude Giroux earlier this season, are looking to preserve their winning streak.
Flyers coach Dave Hakstol, with Jake Voracek (left) and Claude Giroux earlier this season, are looking to preserve their winning streak.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer

Stars (18-14-1) at Flyers (13-11-7)

WHEN: 7 p.m. Saturday

WHERE: Wells Fargo Center

BROADCAST & STREAMING: TV– NBCSP; radio–97.5 FM

SOCIAL MEDIA COVERAGE: Twitter, @BroadStBull @samdonnellon

KEY PLAYERS: Martin Hanzal has been in and out of the Stars lineup with injuries this season but is expected to play. The 30-year-old, 6-6 center has struggled with just three points and a minus-10. Of the 29 points Stars captain Jamie Benn has this season, 18 have come on the road. He has points in three of his last four games at the Wells Fargo Center, and 11 points in 12 games against the Flyers. Dallas forward Jason Spezza has 31 points (9-22) in 36 career games against the Flyers. The Flyers have been paced by Jake Voracek (7-31=38), Claude Giroux (13-21=34) and Sean Couturier (15-15=30) this season, but the story of their five-game winning streak has been their secondary scoring. Scott Laughton, Dale Weiss, Jordan Weal, Travis Konecny and, of course, Michael Raffl (three goals) have all scored in the stretch. Thursday night, rookie defenseman Travis Sanheim added his name to that list with his first goal in his 28th NHL game.

THINGS TO KNOW: Stars coach and former Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock was denied his 800th victory in the Stars' 5-2 loss to New Jersey Friday night. He'll try again Saturday night. He won 131 games in his three-plus seasons as Flyers coach. Including last night, Dallas has not won in the nine games it has trailed after the first period. The Stars are 3-10-1 when the opponent scores first. Last year, Dallas ranked 29th in goals-against average and 30th in save percentage while paying its two goalies a combined $10.4 million. The Stars were  11th in goals against prior to last night's game in New Jersey and are paying Ben Bishop and Kari Lehtonen a combined $11 million to stop pucks this year. Hitchcock said Bishop would start Saturday night's game.

HEAD TO HEAD:

Including playoffs, the Flyers are 82-46-32 all time against the Stars franchise, including an 8-3 record in the postseason. They own a 51-14-16 record at home. Since moving from Minnesota to Dallas and becoming just the Stars, the franchise is 43-72-34 overall against the Flyers and 12-47-16 on the road. They split outcomes last season, with the Flyers taking a 4-2 victory on Dec. 10 and the Stars countering with a 3-1 victory at home a week later.

UPCOMING GAMES:

Monday: 7 p.m. Los Angeles

Wednesday: 7 p.m. Detroit

Friday: 7 p.m. @Buffalo