Tampa Bay Lightning at Dallas Stars: game preview
Tampa BayLightning2026-27: 2-1-0 · 4 pts · 2025-26: 50-26-6 · 106 pts · 5that
DallasStars2026-27: 1-2-0 · 2 pts · 2025-26: 50-20-12 · 112 pts · 3rdSix points apart last season
Tampa Bay finished last season 5th in the league on 106 points. Dallas finished 3rd on 112.
Game-day prices arrive with the afternoon snapshot, about 4:30 PM ET on the day of the game.
Meeting number 64
Across 63 completed games, Tampa Bay lead the head-to-head 34-22-7.
Last 5 meetings
See all: Last 5 meetings →The table on each 2025-26 meeting night
League rank after that night's games; a longer bar is a higher place. On 30 Oct 2025, Tampa Bay were 19th in the league and Dallas 10th. By 18 Jan 2026 it was 2nd and 5th.
Tampa Bay out-attempted Dallas 127 to 87
Every attempt from the last meetings, both teams shooting right.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Dallas Stars
Dallas have created the better chances, last 10 games
Shot quality both ways: expected goals weigh every unblocked attempt by its chance of scoring. Finishing above zero means more goals than the chances.
This season: 3 games for Tampa Bay, 3 for Dallas. Small sample: early-season xG moves a lot from night to night.
Last 10 games: 10 games for Tampa Bay, 10 for Dallas.
2025-26: 82 games for Tampa Bay, 82 for Dallas.
Power play and penalty kill, season and series
This season's rates first, then 2025-26 and the last meetings between the two. Power-play chances are counted from the penalty log with coincidental minors cancelled; faceoffs are each club's wins over draws taken.
All bars share one scale · 0–100%SeasonLast meetings
Tampa Bay
Small sampleDallas
Small sampleSkaters to watch
Each club's top three forwards and defencemen by points this season, with 2025-26 one tap away.
Who has stopped this matchup
Save percentage in the last meetings by goalie. Starters are confirmed on game day.
Tampa Bay crease
TBL · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 22 Feb
No appearances against Dallas in the last meetings.
Dallas crease
DAL · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 22 Feb
No appearances against Tampa Bay in the last meetings.
Scoring rates point to about 6.0 goals
No total is posted yet: it arrives with the game-day prices. Until then, the scoring rates and the recent meetings set the range.
Goals in the last 5 meetings
Bar length is total goals, coloured by the winner.
Scoring rates
Tampa Bay2.672.333.542.82
Dallas2.002.003.402.76Goals for and against per game. The estimate averages each team’s scoring with the other’s goals allowed, and leans on 2025-26 until a team has played 20 games.
7 on the injury lists
Tampa Bay · injuries
Dallas · injuries
Latest moves
See all: Latest moves →Placed C Jansen Harkins on waivers.
Placed D Michael Callahan on waivers.
Placed D Michael Callahan, G Mads Sogaard Nielsenon, LD Maxim Groshev, LW Jakob Pelletier and C Nicholas Abruzzese on waivers.
Assigned D Cameron Bertucci to Texas (AHL).
Placed F Matt Duchene on long-term injured reserve retroactive to Sept. 29. Recalled Fs Arttu Hyry and Colin Blackwell from Texas (AHL).
Signed G Casey DeSmith to a two-year contract.
Tampa Bay · 2026 draft
See all: Tampa Bay · 2026 draft →Dallas · 2026 draft
See all: Dallas · 2026 draft →
Updated after every final