PGP Game 21, Stars @ Isles 11/26/07 7:00 PM

The Isles will try to make it 2 in-a-row as they face off against the Dallas Stars Monday night.

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The Islanders are coming off of a 2-1 victory over the Bruins Saturday night. Everything seemed to be going well for them, and for the first time, Andy Hilbert scored a goal in a game this season.

Goalie Rick DiPietro has been solid all of the way, playing 15 games in a row heading into Monday. It's likely that back-up Wade Dubielewicz will get the call. Also, F Shawn Bates is ready to return on the ice for the first time in 10 months.

A 12-8-0 record isn't bad for the Isles, nor is it too good. This game will be a great chance to improve on it. No matter who's between the pipes or who's on what line, the Isles will make it an exciting game, and give it their best effort. I predict the Isles will get a 4-1 victory, as their offense will finally start to pick-up. It really is about time.

My Projected Lines:

Goaltenders
39 Rick DiPietro
34 Wade Dubielewicz


Defensemen
32 Brendan Witt - 24 Radek Martinek
25 Andy Sutton - 4 Bryan Berard
14 Chris Campoli - 8 Bruno Gervais


Forwards
10 Richard Park - 89 Mike Comrie - 13 Bill Guerin
11 Andy Hilbert - 18 Mike Sillinger - 7 Trent Hunter
26 Ruslan Fedotenko - 63 Josef Vasicek - 81 Miroslav Satan
12 Chris Simon – 17 Shawn Bates - 10 Sean Bergenheim

UPDATE: -4:38- Looks like DP's getting the start tonight. 16 in a row? Ouch. Dubie's going to get rusty.

UPDATE: -6:45- No Bates tonight. MAB's dressed. Looks like the same lines as last game.

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The Stars are now on a 5-game winning streak. Coming off of a solid homestand, they defeated the Rangers Sunday at the Garden. They were completely out played. Here's that one stat that is astonishing: SHOTS: Rangers 40 Stars 18. Despite that, they pulled of a 3-2 victory.

The Goaltending sitiuation is very questionable. Obviously, we all know that Marty Turco is on the Stars. But he isn't getting as much playing time as expected with Mike Smith battling in every game he plays. Smith played Sunday, so Turco should get the call against the Isles.

With the Stars being a west coast team, I can't give you much info on them. That's just because I don't have it. But the Stars haven't been here in 4 years, so welcome back.

My Peojected Lines:

Goaltenders
35 Marty Turco
41 Mike Smith

Defensemen
5 Matt Niskanen - 56 Sergei Zubov
6 Trevor Daley - 43 Philippe Boucher
3 Stephane Robidas - 2 Nicklas Grossman

Forwards
11 Jeff Halpern – 9 Mike Modano – 65 Chris Conner
21 Loui Eriksson - 63 Mike Ribeiro - 10 Brendan Morrow
5 Niklas Hagman - 36 Jussi Jokinen – 14 Stu Barnes
29 Steve Ott - 39 Joel Lundqvist – 16 Brad Winchester