A couple of notes this afternoon as we get ready for the game tonight in Phoenix.

First off, this great article at the Copper & Blue made me start thinking about faceoffs and the Dallas Stars. Currently, the Stars are 26th in the NHL at faceoff percentage at 47.1%. It's been an issues for a couple of seasons now and it doesn't look as if it's getting better anytime soon. It's still frustrating.

In his morning skate update, Mike Heika reports that Marty Turco will get the start tonight with Alex Auld most likely starting tomorrow against Tampa Bay. Also, Mike Smith will play tonight for the Lightning so I doubt he plays against the Stars tomorrow night.

Heika also says that there is a possibility that Mike Ribeiro and Brenden Morrow will be back to playing on the same line, which will shake things up a bit.

The next two games are going to be on FSN+. So...from the Dallas Stars here are your channels:

AT&T's U-Verse:  Channel 754 (HD Channel 1754)
DirecTV:  Channel 677 (HD Channel 677-1)
Dish Network:  Channel 452 (HD Channel 9517) Saturday Night Only (Friday is one of the 20 extra Stars games that Dish refuses to air)
Charter Cable unfortunately has not received the proper equipment and
will not have the Plus feed this weekend.

Of course, if you cannot watch tonight's game we'll be chatting live in our game thread and keeping you as updated as possible.

Mike Heika has his weekly newsletter up, and the great Patty in Dallas had this question:

Q: I've noticed since the start of the season that a much larger percentage of the players than usual are going with the Modano-esque two-day beard. Is this a coincidence? Is it some kind of bonding thing? My theory is that it's in support of Modano and his Olympic bid or his final year. (I hope it's not his final year.)

Can you check on that for us?

Patty in Dallas

HEIKA: Hey Patty, it seems they just have very bad grooming habits (they could have picked those up from Modano). No correlation or tribute to Modano ... just a coincidence.

Heika also talks about the depth not only on the Stars, but in the system as well down in Austin. He's right when he says that if the Stars need a call up, nearly every single player on that team would be a good addition in Dallas.

See you tonight in the game thread.