On the second half of a back-to-back, the Dallas Stars will make a few lineup changes.
Most of it may be predicated on getting fresh legs in wherever possible, as is the case on the blueline. Julius Honka will draw into the lineup after sitting out the last two games versus the Chicago Blackhawks. Jamie Oleksiak will draw out.
Other changes will be predicated on sickness and some injuries. On the forward side, Antoine Roussel missed last night’s contest at home due to illness and is likely out tonight as well. Head coach Ken Hitchcock indicated that a couple of guys that played last night got banged up, though he declined to identify them. The Stars called up Jason Dickinson, who will take warmups and they’ll determine who is in and who is out for the game.
Kari Lehtonen will get the start in net.
The Stars have been on a pretty good run lately. They’ve won four straight ever since they retired Jere Lehtinen’s number and wore yellow laces in his honor. It seems that they’ll continue to wear them until their luck runs out.
Dallas will need some kind of luck tonight when they take on the Colorado Avalanche. The Stars haven’t found much success there in the last five or so seasons, and they’ve lost both contests in Mile High City so far this season. And those contests haven’t even been close – they’ve lost 5-3 and 3-0.
Tonight’s game is a tough one. On a back-to-back with travel it would be difficult to win against most teams in this league, much less against one in which you have to play at altitude. But this is the kind of team that the Stars need to win against – a team that’s five points behind them in the standings. Separation from the bottom of the conference helps, and every two points the Stars can gain will help to hopefully give them some separation from the rest of the Pacific and Central division teams stacked right behind them fighting for a playoff spot down the stretch.