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STARS (15-10-1) at AVALANCHE (12-10-2)
8 p.m. ET; ALT, FS-SW, NHL.TV

Goalie Jonathan Bernier will start for the Avalanche, who have lost two of the first three games (1-2-0) of a five-game homestand. Bernier made 28 saves in a 3-0 win against the Stars on Nov. 22. Colorado is 2-1-0 against Dallas with each win coming at home.

Players to watch

Stars forward Radek Faksa has a goal in three consecutive games with six points (five goals, one assist) during the streak. He has seven goals in his past eight games and 15 points (10 goals, five assists) in 25 games this season.
Rookie J.T. Compher will start at left wing on Colorado's top line with center Nathan MacKinnon and right wing Mikko Rantanen in place of Gabriel Landeskog, who has two games left on his four-game suspension. Compher has eight points (four goals, four assists) in 18 games.

They said it

"We're doing what you want a team to do, and that is battle for each other. We're making each other accountable on a high level and helping each other on the bench. I think we're going to have to play a lot better than we're playing right now to get a playoff spot, but I like that fact that we're really trying to help each other." -- Stars coach Ken Hitchcock
"We're looking for someone to step up and seize the opportunity and make the most of it, and help that line continue to do what they've been doing. We haven't found that over the course of a couple games." -- Avalanche coach Jared Bednar, who will use Compher as Landeskog's replacement after trying Sven Andrighetto and Nail Yakupov

Stars projected lineup
Avalanche projected lineup

J.T. Compher -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen
Tyson Jost -- Alex Kerfoot -- Nail Yakupov
Matt Nieto -- Carl Soderberg -- Blake Comeau
Sven Andrighetto -- Dominic Toninato -- Gabriel Bourque
Samuel Girard -- Erik Johnson
Nikita Zadorov -- Mark Barberio
Anton Lindholm -- Tyson Barrie
Jonathan Bernier
Semyon Varlamov
Scratched:Duncan Siemens
Injured:Vladislav Kamenev (broken arm), Patrik Nemeth (back), Colin Wilson (lower body)
Suspended:Gabriel Landeskog

Status report

The Stars placed Hanzal on injured reserve and recalled Dickinson from Texas of the American Hockey League on Sunday.

Stat pack

The Stars are 1-for-20 on the power play in their past six games. ... Colorado is 10-1-1 in its past 12 home games against Dallas.