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Get your game notes: Sabres at Stars

Dallas Stars v Buffalo Sabres

BUFFALO, NY - OCTOBER 28: Christian Ehrhoff #10 of the Buffalo Sabres skates away from Vernon Fiddler #38 of the Dallas Stars at First Niagara Center on October 28, 2013 in Buffalo, New York. Dallas won 4-3.

Rick Stewart

This evening on NBCSN, it’s the Dallas Stars hosting the Buffalo Sabres starting at 8 p.m. ET. Following are some game notes, as compiled by the NHL on NBC research team:

-- Dallas Stars coach Lindy Ruff could reach a major milestone tonight against the Sabres franchise that fired him. He’s just one victory away from becoming the 12th coach in NHL history to record at least the 600 career wins.

-- Only two players in the NHL have at least 20 points and 100 penalty minutes and they’ll both be on the ice tonight. Chris Stewart, who the Sabres recently acquired from St. Louis as part of the Ryan Miller deal, has 26 points and 112 penalty minutes while Stars forward Antoine Roussel has recorded 21 points and 158 penalty minutes.

-- Dallas is 7-2-2 in its last 11 games despite the fact that it’s only converted on one power-play opportunity in 26 tries. The Stars rank 25th in the league with a 14.4% power-play success rate.

-- Buffalo’s Matt Moulson is on a five-game point streak going into tonight’s contest. That’s one contest shy of the 30-year-old forward’s career-high and the Sabres’ record for the 2013-14 campaign.

-- Buffalo forward Ville Leino has played in 41 games this season, but still hasn’t found the back of the net despite scoring 19 goals in 2010-2011. Of those who have played in at least 30 games this season, only Vancouver’s Alex Burrows has netted more goals than Leino’s career-high in a previous campaign while still being goalless in 2013-14.

-- If you need evidence that Miller was a vital part of Buffalo’s team, keep in mind that since the start of 2006-07, the Sabres are 248-161-53 in games where Miller was used and 51-67-20 in all other contests. He had a 2.58 GAA over that span while the rest of Buffalo’s goaltenders posted a 3.20 GAA.

-- There have only been seven instances where the Sabres have led a game going into the third period in 2013-14. That’s the fewest out of any NHL team, but they are 5-0-2 in those games. The Stars have held the lead through 40 minutes far more frequently and have a commanding 20-1-2 record in that scenario. However, when it comes to overcoming a deficit going into the third period, these are two of the least successful teams in the league.

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