The Vancouver Canucks (35-29-13) open their final road trip of the season tonight when they visit the Dallas Stars (50-22-5) at American Airlines Center. 
The quick trip will wrap up on Thursday in Colorado.

What we know

The Canucks have a skeleton crew on the trip with no extra healthy bodies. So they will go with the same line-up they used in a 3-2 loss to Vegas at home on Sunday. The team is carrying just 12 forwards after re-assigning rookie Jonathan Lekkerimäki to Abbotsford this morning.
Thatcher Demko returns to the net after backing up Kevin Lankinen against the Golden Knights. Demko made 30 saves in a 6-2 win over Anaheim on Saturday afternoon. He is 7-1-1 lifetime against the Stars suffering his first regulation loss the last time the Canucks were in Dallas.
Against Vegas, Nils Höglander opened the scoring in his return to the lineup after missing six games with an undisclosed injury. Aatu Räty had the other goal and won seven of his 10 face-offs.
Räty has scored four goals in his past six games. The 22-year-old Finn has settled in on a line with Dakota Joshua and Kiefer Sherwood. That trio has combined for seven goals and eight assists in the past seven games. In 43 career NHL games, Räty has recorded eight goals.
Captain Quinn Hughes needs five points over the final five games to pass Alex Edler for the all time franchise record for points by a defenceman. Edler finished with 409 points in 925 games. Hughes has 405 points in 428 games.
Dating back to a January 31st game in Dallas, the Canucks are 5-7-2 in their last 14 road games with just one of those wins coming in regulation time (5-2 at New York Islanders).

The opponent

The Stars dropped a pair of games over the weekend falling 5-3 on home ice to Pittsburgh on Saturday and 3-2 in overtime in Minnesota on Sunday. Dallas held a third period lead in both of those games and managed to secure just a single point in the standings. Despite the disappointing weekend, the Stars are still 7-1-2 in their last 10 games.
The Stars are third in the overall NHL standings. They are also third in both offence and defence. They are second in the league on the penalty kill at 84.4%. On home ice, they are tops in the NHL at 88.0%.
Dallas is one of the best home ice teams in the league with a record of 28-8-2. Their next home ice win will match the franchise record.  
The Stars line-up boasts both top-end talent along with depth and balance. Jason Robertson (34), Wyatt Johnston (31), Matt Duchene (29) and Roope Hintz (28) lead the team in goals while Duchene (79) leads Robertson by a point for the team lead in scoring. And, of course, they added star winger Mikko Rantanen at the trade deadline. He has 14 points in 15 games since arriving in the Lone Star State.
Captain Jamie Benn’s next goal will be the 400th of his NHL career. He’s been sitting on 399 for a dozen games with his last goal coming in Edmonton on March 9th.
Former Canuck Casey DeSmith gets the start in goal. His loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday snapped an 8-0-1 stretch. On the season, he is 14-7-1 with a 2.38 GAA and a .921 save percentage.
Dallas has taken the first two games of the season series against the Canucks. They beat Vancouver 5-3 on January 31st – the day JT Miller was dealt to the New York Rangers. They also posted a 4-1 win on March 9th.
Today’s referees: Wes McCauley & Brian Pochmara
Today’s broadcasters: John Shorthouse & Dave Tomlinson
Make sure to join the Rink Wide Vancouver postgame live stream immediately following tonight’s game. Rink Wide will provide a full breakdown and comprehensive coverage of the Canucks game. When the final buzzer sounds, be sure to log onto Rink Wide and join the YouTube live chat to discuss the game with other Canucks fans. Subscribe to the Rink Wide YouTube channel and never miss an episode.
Sponsored by bet365