Ducks at Stars preview

DUCKS (34-22-12) at STARS (37-24-6)
8:30 p.m. ET; FS-SW, FS-W, NHL.TV

The Ducks are third in the Pacific Division, one point behind the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks had moved ahead of the Ducks with a 2-0 win against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday.
Dallas holds the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference and is fourth in the Central Division, three points behind the Minnesota Wild.

Players to watch

Ducks forward Rickard Rakell has 10 points (eight goals, two assists) in a five-game point streak. He reached the 30-goal mark for the second straight season with two goals in a 4-2 loss against the Nashville Predators on Thursday.
Dallas forward Tyler Seguin has 11 points (seven goals, four assists) in the past seven games.

They said it

"It's our job as a coaching staff to be realistic about how we're playing and where we're at as a team, and how much work is ahead of us."-- Ducks coach Randy Carlyle
"He's been such a pleasant surprise and such a joy to be around. He's got an overall game that you're really proud of. He's just good in every aspect right now." -- Stars coach Ken Hitchcock, on Seguin

Ducks projected lineup

Rickard Rakell -- Ryan Getzlaf -- Corey Perry
Andrew Cogliano -- Ryan Kesler -- Jakob Silfverberg
Nick Ritchie -- Adam Henrique -- Ondrej Kase
Jason Chimera -- Derek Grant -- Chris Kelly
Cam Fowler -- Brandon Montour
Marcus Pettersson -- Hampus Lindholm
Josh Manson - Kevin Bieksa
Ryan Miller
John Gibson
Scratched: Francois Beauchemin, JT Brown, Antoine Vermette
Injured: Patrick Eaves (illness)

Stars projected lineup

Mattias Janmark -- Tyler Seguin -- Alexander Radulov
Jamie Benn -- Radek Faksa -- Tyler Pitlick
Antoine Roussel -- Jason Spezza -- Remi Elie
Devin Shore -- Jason Dickinson -- Brett Ritchie
Esa Lindell -- John Klingberg
Dan Hamhuis -- Greg Pateryn
Marc Methot -- Stephen Johns
Kari Lehtonen
Mike McKenna
Scratched: Julius Honka, Gemel Smith
Injured: Ben Bishop (lower body)

Status report

Miller is expected to start after Gibson allowed four goals on 28 shots against the Predators on Thursday. Miller made 41 saves in a 2-0 win against the Stars on Feb. 21. … Faksa (foot) and Lindell (illness) will return after missing the past two games. Hanzal could miss the start of next season because of back surgery that he will have in the coming days. Recovery time from the spinal fusion procedure is 6-7 months. Hanzal last played against the Ducks on Feb. 21.

Stat pack

Getzlaf has 11 points (one goal, 10 assists) during a four-game point streak, and 14 points (two goals, 12 assists) in the past seven games. … Radulov has six points (three goals, three assists) in the past seven games.