Glen Gulutzan announced after last night's win against the Columbus Blue Jackets that backup Richard Bachman would get the start tonight in Buffalo. Despite the team's struggles on the second night of back-to-back games, the decision made sense considering the Stars have a big game coming up against the Kings on Sunday. It's logical that the Stars would play Bachman against Buffalo and rest Lehtonen for a game against a team they are competing directly with for playoff positioning.

Early this morning, however, Darryl Reaugh hinted that it was going to be Kari Lehtonen in net tonight instead. We were skeptical, since Gulutzan has clearly made it known the team was going with Bachman. Who are we to second guess Razor, as it turns out the brilliant analyst was indeed correct.

Word coming from morning skate up in Buffalo is that Kari Lehtonen will be back in net tonight against the Sabres. According to Glen Gulutzan (via Mike Heika), Lehtonen was feeling a bit under the weather last night but is good to go today. Hence the change.

``He was feeling a little sick there, and we thought (Bachman) would be the best decision here, but we've talked to him, and he's over it and 100 percent healthy and ready to go,'' Gulutzan said.

While playing Lehtonen in back to back games is risky -- and there's a big game looming on Sunday -- I think I can understand the reasoning behind this decision, even if it was apparently tied to his not feeling well after the game last night.

Find out why after the jump. We also have a brilliant game preview video by Razor.

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Adam Pardy, as was expected, has been recalled from his conditioning stint with the Texas Stars. He played in two games and recorded four assists (including three last night) to go along with a +1 rating. He was not at morning skate today but will rejoin the team. It's not expected he'll play.

Kari Lehtonen will start in net tonight, says Mike Heika, so expect to see Richard Bachman tomorrow as the Stars try to break the 0-8-1 streak on second nights of back to backs.

What's really interesting, however, is that the Stars may be shuffling up their lines, if the morning skate combinations are any indication. Mike Heika reports on twitter from Columbus that the Stars ran these combinations this morning:

Ott-Benn-Vincour
Eriksson-Ribeiro-Ryder
Nystrom-Fiddler-Dvorak
Petersen-Wandell-Burish

Vincour was recalled upon Brenden Morrow's placement on the injured reserve list and has since played on a line with Vernon Fiddler and Radek Dvorak, then on the fourth line with Tommy Wandell and Toby Petersen. Now it appears as though he could jump up to play with Benn, a trio that many feel would have some pretty powerful puck possession skills.

***Last week against the Wild the Stars ran combinations at morning skate that they then did not use when game time rolled around, so we take all of this with an enormous grain of salt. Vincour was placed on the ice with Jamie Benn and Steve Ott for one (and only one) even strength faceoff against Phoenix Tuesday late in the third period, for what it's worth. What do you think?

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It is being reported by both the DMN and ESPN Dallas Monday afternoon that the Dallas Stars have assigned defenseman Adam Pardy to the Texas Stars of the AHL on a conditioning assignment. It has been reported that the duration of the assignment will be two games, and he is expected to rejoin the Stars in Columbus on Thursday.

A conditioning assignment for a player that has (presumably) been healthy is a bit of unusual thing around here. Only Mark Fistric and Toby Petersen have taken conditioning assignments in recent years (in the Texas Stars era of affiliates), both after injuries.

The CBA says:

Conditioning Assignment. Unless a player consents, he shall not be sent to a minor league club for conditioning reasons. Nor shall such conditioning extend for more than 14 consecutive days without the player's consent. The player shall continue, during such period or mutually agreed to extension of such period, to receive the same salary, and be entitled to the same benefits, that he would have received had he continued to play with the Club.

So Adam Pardy had to agree to it. It's possible he requested it to stay sharp and work on his game. He has not seen game action since January 10th. He has played in 22 contests for the Stars this year, notching a single assist and a -8 rating on the year. Waivers are not a part of a conditioning assignment, and unless I'm mistaken (always a good possibility) Pardy will still consume a roster spot in Dallas while he's gone.

The Texas Stars will play at home Tuesday and Wednesday night with both games coming against the Milwaukee Admirals.

With Brenden Morrow out for at least the next few games while dealing a lingering neck injury the Dallas Stars called up Tomas Vincour, with the hopeful thought was that Vincour might just slide up to the spot vacated by the captain. We didn't know exactly what coach Glen Gulutzan would actually do, especially since we've seen a hesitation to play Vincour in a significant role for much of the season.

Gulutzan has decided to actually shake things up a bit more than expected, moving Eric Nystrom to the second line to play with Mike Ribeiro and Michael Ryder. Here were the lines at morning skate:

Ott - Benn - Eriksson
Nystrom - Ribeiro - Ryder
Vincour - Fiddler - Dvorak
Dowell - Wandell - Burish

The Stars will also be going with six defensemen tonight, with Adam Pardy and Mark Fistric being the scratches. Nicklas Grossman will be paired back up with Trevor Daley, while the other pairings remain the same.

After the skate, Nystrom said he's excited about the chance to play with Ribeiro but made sure to make it known this isn't anything special.

"I'm excited," Nystrom said. "Obviously, someone's gotta fill in spots and step up when it's needed. I'm just going to play my game, I'm going to go to the net and do whatever is needed.

"I just want to try and create space for [Ribeiro], drive to the net and open things up for him. I'm going to be around the net, just like always and hopefully be able to finish."

More after the jump, including an update (sort of) on Brenden Morrow.

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The Dallas Stars have announced they have placed Brenden Morrow on injured reserve, retroactive to Feb. 2, and have recalled forward Tomas Vincour.

Morrow has battled several injuries throughout this season, most notably issues with his neck and back. He recently was given a game off after suffering from a minor neck injury and missed significant time early this season with back and knee issues as well.

While it's tough to really speculate, it is notable that this announcement is coming in the evening on Friday. Normally this news -- and the recall -- is made during the business day. We'll probably find out exactly what happened tomorrow after morning skate, but I'd wager that Morrow had a setback last night and decided it just wasn't something he could play through this weekend.

To try and find some good in the situation, there's a hope that this is a great chance for Tomas Vincour to assert himself once more with increased minutes. While Gulutzan has seemed hesitant at times to play Vincour in the top six, with Morrow out the Stars need a forward that can play good puck possession hockey next to Mike Ribeiro and Loui Eriksson.

Morrow has had a tough season and his inconsistent play on the ice has drawn the ire of a good number of fans. Yet it's obvious this is a player fighting hard through some tough injuries and right now they're just getting the better of him. We hope this time around Morrow takes time enough to really heal and come back 100% on the other side.

Press release after the jump.

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The Stars went back to work today, preparing to scale the mountain and claim a top eight spot in the West after a tumultuous, injury riddled first half (and then some) of the season.

"We have our fate in our own hands. We have no excuses and our best hockey is coming," said Dallas Stars head coach Glen Gulutzan today after practice. [Twitter]

They sent Philip Larsen, Matt Fraser and Tomas Vincour back to the Texas Stars last week when the break began and the big question was "Who would return?"

Vincour is a real offensive asset, a possession hound, and a big physical presence, but would there be room in a lineup that is now finally healthy? Philip Larsen had been getting the call to suit up and play while Mark Fistric and Adam Pardy sat and watched. The Stars made the choice many expected and brought Larsen back, while Vincour will presumably stay in Cedar Park to play bigger minutes than he might otherwise get in Dallas. The defensive pairings were these today...

Souray-Robidas
Daley-Grossman
Goligoski-Larsen
Fistric-Pardy

It's hard not to look at this and try to read into what's going to happen here, if anything. Teams don't ordinarily carry eight healthy defensemen, so it makes one at least a little curious. Larsen's inclusion in a pair with Goligoski (as it was before the break) makes one think they have every intention of playing him.

The natural line of questioning leads you inexorably to a.) Is health a concern still with Robidas and Souray, thus the extra body? And b.) If everyone really is healthy, is there a transaction pending? (Waivers or trade).

The reality is that there may not be (probably won't be) further development. There doesn't need to be. They have 13 forwards, 8 defensemen and 2 goaltenders to give them a full 23 man roster, and other injuries will come. They always do. Gulutzan said that eight healthy D is "good for the team, but hard on coaches." [Twitter]

The forward lines from practice after the jump...

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The Stars announced some roster moves today as the All-Star break takes effect, sending Matt Fraser, Tomas Vincour, and Philip Larsen down to the Texas Stars and officially activating Jamie Benn from the injured reserve list.

The Texas Stars had a long layoff this week but have two games this weekend before the AHL All-Star break, when Matt Fraser will travel to Atlantic City to participate.

Assuming that the Dallas Stars field a completely healthy roster at the resumption of play next Wednesday in Southern California, it will be very interesting to see what happens with the defense and with Tomas Vincour. There will be just one roster spot open if Brenden Morrow is healthy, and Philip Larsen has been in the lineup over both Mark Fistric and Adam Pardy lately.

Health will allow the team to play Adam Burish as a fourth line player, as well as Tom Wandell. The guess is that the coaching staff would rather have Philip Larsen available regularly than Tomas Vincour, but carrying eight defensemen is not generally done in this league. What they decide when practice resumes next Monday will be very interesting. Will a defenseman be dealt or sent through waivers, or will they simply use Vincour, who has been effective when healthy and carrying 14 forwards?

I'm sure we'll have more discussion of this as the break goes on but how do you think things will shake out?

Full release after the jump.

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Mike Ribeiro told media after Tuesday's morning skate at American Airlines Center that he'll be a game time decision tonight. Glen Gulutzan, who is probably more than ready to get one of his top two centers back in the lineup, took any doubt out of the equation and said that he will be back tonight against the Anaheim Ducks.

"He's ready to go tonight," said Gulutzan. "He's had three days of skating and he's a pretty quick healer."

Ribeiro has 41 points in 39 career games against the Ducks.

In Anaheim's last visit to Dallas the Stars were playing Ribeiro with Steve Ott and Brenden Morrow primarily, and judging from the even strength faceoffs that night, matched that line more often than not with the Getzlaf/Perry trio regardless of zone start. Sheldon Souray and Stephane Robidas were out there with them for nearly every one.

Gulutzan countered the Selanne line (which that night had Bobby Ryan on it due to Koivu's absence) almost exclusively with the Jamie Benn trio (with Eriksson and Ryder). Tonight those wingers are with the center from the other matchup and Morrow and Benn are out, leaving Gulutzan shorthanded.

The lines are expected to look like this:

Eriksson-Ribeiro-Ryder
Ott-Wandell-Burish
Nystrom-Fiddler-Dvorak
Fraser-Dowell-Vincour

My guess is we'll see the Wandell primarily against Koivu and the ageless wonder Selanne, but Fiddler and company could get a crack at them as well depending on how it shakes out.

The Ducks went bowling yesterday, rather than practice, according to Anaheim media.

Adam Pardy and Mark Fistric are the scratches on defense. Lehtonen is in the Dallas net. I haven't heard otherwise so we'll go on assuming Hiller is in net for Anaheim.