DALLAS -- The Pittsburgh Penguins hope facing the Dallas Stars, who are tied for the third-most non-shootout goals-against in the NHL (226) at American Airlines Center on Thursday, is just what they need to end a three-game losing streak where the Penguins have scored one goal on 108 shots.

Pittsburgh coach Mike Johnston said he knows that even though Dallas, which lost 3-0 to the St. Louis Blues on Sunday to begin a four-game homestand, has allowed a lot of goals, the Stars are adept at scoring them.

"They play a pace game, a skating game," Johnston said. "They're a very good transition team from their back end to their forwards and they're a hard forechecking group. That's what we talked to our team about; we have to prepare and have that mindset going into the game."

Center Sidney Crosby said he knows of one easy the Penguins can limit quality scoring chances for the Stars.

DALLAS -- Neither the St. Louis Blues nor the Dallas Stars held a morning skate Sunday in advance of their game at American Airlines Center.

St. Louis (43-20-5, 91 points) played Saturday, losing 3-1 at home to the Minnesota Wild, and embark on a six-game road trip over the next 10 days.

Goalie Jake Allen will start for the Blues, his first start since March 1 at the Vancouver Canucks.

Dallas (32-27-10, 74 points), which is starting a four-game homestand after going 4-1-0 during its recent road trip, held an optional practice Saturday at its headquarters in Frisco, Texas. Rookie defenseman John Klingberg, who was expected to return after missing two games with an upper-body injury, was ruled out by coach Lindy Ruff about 90 minutes before game time.

DALLAS -- With the Dallas Stars mired in a six-game losing streak (0-4-2), coach Lindy Ruff decided to change his game-day routine by having the morning skate at Stars headquarters in Frisco instead of American Airlines Center, where Dallas will host the New York Islanders on Tuesday.

Ruff's rationale for the change was simple.

"It's just trying to change it up. Let's change the scenery. It's my job to try to do things that'll make a difference," Ruff said. "I want this team to get better, continue to get better."

Ruff is keeping his forward lines identical from a 3-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday. But he could be making a change in his defensive pairs.

Patrik Nemeth, who has missed the past 52 games with an arm laceration, could see his first action since Oct. 18, 2014, against the Philadelphia Flyers. Nemeth could join Trevor Daley on Dallas' second pair.

DALLAS -- Shortly after trading left wing Erik Cole to the Detroit Red Wings, Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill discussed the two prospects, defenseman Mattias Backman and center Mattias Janmark, the Stars received in return.

Backman, 22, was a fifth-round pick (No. 146) by Detroit in the 2011 NHL Draft. He played 18 games for Grand Rapids in the American Hockey League earlier this season before being loaned to Linkopings HC in the Swedish Hockey League.

Nill was an assistant general manager with the Red Wings when Backman was drafted, so he knows Backman well.

"He's a defenseman, a good puck-moving defenseman," Nill said. "He came over and played a few games at Grand Rapids start of the season and went back to Sweden. But he's very close to being an NHL-ready defenseman, just needs to gain strength in that but real good skill, good hockey sense."

DALLAS -- With the Dallas Stars on a five-game losing streak (0-3-2), coach Lindy Ruff is making one big change to his lineup before the game against the Anaheim Ducks at American Airlines Center on Sunday.

Backup goalie Jhonas Enroth will make his fourth start since being traded to Dallas from the Buffalo Sabres on Feb. 11. Enroth replaces Kari Lehtonen, who allowed four goals on 23 shots in regulation during a 5-4 shootout loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Friday.

"Just going to put him [Enroth] in net and let him play," Ruff said.

Ruff is likely keeping his forward lines and defensive pairings identical from Friday. Stars defenseman Alex Goligoski, right wing Ales Hemsky and left wing Antoine Roussel did not skate Sunday but Ruff said the session was optional and that all three will play against the Ducks.

DALLAS -- The Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars each have 63 points and are eight points behind the Minnesota Wild for the second Western Conference wild-card berth into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, making their game at American Airlines Center on Friday a crucial one for both teams.

Dallas (27-25-9) has lost four straight games (0-3-1) and is 12-12-7 at home. But coach Lindy Ruff feels that even though Dallas is 0-3-1 against the Avalanche this season, the margin between them is small.

"In the last game in this building, basically they have nothing and we let them score with under 20 seconds left and they end up winning it in the extra time," Ruff said. "It's making sure that if we have that lead we can hold it, and if we're behind it's getting that key goal."

DALLAS -- The Detroit Red Wings and Dallas Stars each need a victory, which makes the game at American Airlines Center on Saturday between the former Central Division rivals an intriguing matchup.

Detroit (32-14-10) is 1-2-1 in its past four games and will be without defenseman Kyle Quincey (lower body). Jakub Kindl, who has missed the past 20 games with an elbow injury, will replace Quincey in the second defensive pairing alongside Danny DeKeyser.

Kindl played two games for Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League earlier this week on a conditioning assignment before being recalled on Friday.

"We just want him to get in there and get playing, get his confidence back," Detroit coach Mike Babcock said of Kindl. "He's a real good puck mover. He can shoot the puck and he's just got to work on being good defensively."

DALLAS -- The San Jose Sharks and Dallas Stars are currently on the wrong side of the cutoff line for the Stanley Cup Playoffs picture in the Western Conference, which makes the game between the former Pacific Division rivals at American Airlines Center on Thursday crucial.

San Jose (29-22-8) is 2-5-2 in its past nine games, including a 5-1 loss at the Nashville Predators on Tuesday. The Sharks are currently tied in points with the Los Angeles Kings, but L.A. holds the final wild-card spot in the West by virtue of having played two fewer games. San Jose's recent struggles led coach Todd McLellan to shuffle his lines at morning skate on Thursday.

"It could (help us defensively). We're hoping that," McLellan said. "We've won two of our last nine games with the same group, so it's time to shake things up. We'll see if that gives us an opportunity to be productive. If not, we can always go back."

DALLAS -- The Dallas Stars are 1-3-1 in their past five games at American Airlines Center, and with the Florida Panthers visiting Friday in the second game of a back-to-back, Stars coach Lindy Ruff said he would like to see his team capitalize early.

"For me it [the key] is going to be doing the little things really well and that's getting pucks in deep, making sure that we're playing a 200-foot game, the pucks are getting in below the goal line and getting pucks going to the net," Ruff said. "Maybe we're catching them off guard and they're the team that's taking penalties right off the bat."

Dallas has won two straight, including a 5-3 win at the Boston Bruins on Tuesday to close its Eastern Conference road trip at 2-1-0.

The Panthers lost 2-1 at the Minnesota Wild on Thursday, their fourth loss in their past five road games (1-4-0). Despite their recent road struggles, Ruff said he knows the Stars will be in for a tough battle against Florida, which is 12-10-6 on the road.

DALLAS -- With the Tampa Bay Lightning and Dallas Stars currently on tough stretches, each coach made the morning skate optional in advance of their game Thursday at American Airlines Center.

Dallas (23-19-8) lost 3-2 in a shootout to the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday, and with the Stars starting a stretch of three games in four days, coach Lindy Ruff wanted to give his players the choice of not skating.

"It's the time of year where this gets a little bit tough. We've been on twice a day and we've got four games in six nights," Ruff said. "I'm going to try to change it up here from game-to-game."

Just over half of the Dallas roster skated, but captain Jamie Benn and center Tyler Seguin weren't among them. Benn and Seguin played a game of tennis in the hallway near the Stars locker room.

Center Jason Spezza, who missed practice Wednesday with what was termed a maintenance day by Ruff, skated on Thursday and will play.

"Spezza's good. Everybody else is good," Ruff said.