Blackhawks at Stars preview

BLACKHAWKS (11-19-6) at STARS (17-14-3)
8:30 p.m. ET; FS-SW, NBCSCH, NHL.TV

Klingberg missed the past 18 games with a broken right hand and hasn't played since Nov. 8. He has 13 points (five goals, eight goals) in 16 games. At the time of his injury, he ranked tied for second in goals among defensemen and tied for sixth in points. Dallas was 8-8-2 in Klingberg's absence.
The Stars are 1-4-0 in the past five games after a four-game winning streak. They are 11-3-1 at home, winning the past five.
The Blackhawks, who defeated the Nashville Predators 2-1 on Tuesday, seek to win a second straight game for the first time since Oct. 23-25. They are 3-11-1 in the past 15 games and 4-12-2 on the road this season.

Players to watch

Blackhawks forward Jonathan Toews has a team-high 16 goals including seven points (three goals, four assists) in his past four games.
Stars goalie Ben Bishop played 53:37 and allowed no goals in a 2-0 win against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday. He is 8-1-1 with a 2.14 goals-against average, .937 save percentage and two shutouts in 10 games against the Blackhawks.

They said it

"When we have had the work ethic away from the puck and we've been competing defensively and engaged defensively, we've given ourselves a chance to have success. That's what we need to do." -- Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton
"Don't try to do too much. Don't try to be the hero." -- Stars defensemen John Klingberg on returning after missing 18 games

Blackhawks projected lineup

Brandon Saad -- Jonathan Toews -- Dominik Kahun
Dylan Strome -- Artem Anisimov -- Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat -- David Kampf --
Dylan Sikura
John Hayden --
Luke Johnson
-- Brendan Perlini
Duncan Keith -- Erik Gustafsson
Gustav Forsling -- Brent Seabrook
Carl Dahlstrom
-- Connor Murphy
Cam Ward
Collin Delia
Scratched: Chris Kunitz, Brandon Manning, Andreas Martinsen
Injured: Brandon Davidson (right leg), Corey Crawford (concussion), Marcus Kruger (concussion)

Stars projected lineup

Jamie Benn -- Tyler Seguin -- Alexander Radulov
Valeri Nichushkin -- Devin Shore --
Denis Gurianov
Radek Faksa -- Martin Hanzal -- Tyler Pitlick
Mattias Janmark -- Jason Dickinson -- Blake Comeau
Esa Lindell -- John Klingberg
Miro Heiskanen -- Taylor Fedun
Gavin Bayreuther -- Roman Polak
Ben Bishop
Anton Khudobin
Scratched:Julius Honka, Brett Ritchie
Injured:Jason Spezza (illness), Stephen Johns (upper body), Connor Carrick (lower body), Marc Methot (lower body)

Status report

Kruger was placed in NHL's concussion protocol Wednesday. Johnson was recalled from Rockford of the American Hockey League on Wednesday to replace him in the lineup. … Spezza will miss his second straight game. … To make room for Klingberg, defenseman Joel Hanley was reassigned to Texas of the AHL on Wednesday. ... Ward will make his second straight start.

Stat pack

Kane has nine points (two goals, seven assists) in his past eight games. … Dallas has allowed at least four goals in three of its past five games.