DALLAS -- When the Dallas Stars host the Chicago Blackhawks at American Airlines Center on Tuesday (8:30 p.m. ET; CSN-CH, FS-SW+), it will be the first time Stars defenseman Johnny Oduya and forward Patrick Sharp face the Blackhawks since changing teams in the summer.
Oduya, a member of Chicago's Stanley Cup championship teams in 2013 and 2015, signed with Dallas as a free agent last summer.
Sharp, who played for the Blackhawks' title teams in 2010, 2013 and 2015, came to the Stars in a July trade that sent defenseman Trevor Daley and forward Ryan Garbutt to Chicago for Sharp and defenseman Stephen Johns, who is with the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League.
The two veterans have already experienced facing a former team for the first time earlier in their respective careers, so it's natural they're downplaying that aspect of this Central Division game.
"We want to have a good finish here before the small little break [for Christmas], a lot of division games coming up," said Oduya, who has four goals and 12 points in 34 games with the Stars. "Obviously, they're a good team. I have a lot of friends on that team, but that makes me want to beat them even more."