Stars at Sharks preview

STARS (34-20-4) AT SHARKS (31-19-8)
8 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, FS-SW, NHL.TV

Hertl, who ranks second on the team in goals (15) and fifth in points (33), missed the Sharks' 4-1 victory against the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday with an upper body injury.
Daniel O'Regan, who was recalled Sunday from the San Jose Barracuda of the American Hockey League, could play if Hertl can't.
The Sharks, 3-1-0 in their past four games, are in second place in the Pacific Division with 70 points, one point ahead of the Anaheim Ducks, two ahead of the Calgary Flames and three ahead of the Los Angeles Kings.
Goaltender Ben Bishop will start for the Stars, who are 6-1-0 in their past seven games. Dallas has 72 points and is tied for third place in the Central Division with the St. Louis Blues.
Bishop made 28 saves in a 2-1 victory against St. Louis at American Airlines on Friday.

Players to watch

Stars forward Jamie Benn has eight points (six goals, two assists) in his past seven games.
Sharks goaltender Martin Jones is 3-3-1 with a 1.84 goals-against average and .941 save percentage in his past seven starts.

They said it

"We've obviously got a tough road trip. It's tough going out there and getting wins, so it's important to get off to a good start against San Jose." -- Stars goaltender Ben Bishop on facing the Sharks, Ducks and Kings
"It's not like guys are on their phones checking before games to see who won or lost, but you're aware of who's playing." -- Sharks defenseman Joakim Ryan on the tight race to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs

Stars projected lineup

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

Sharks projected lineup

Timo Meier -- Joe Pavelski -- Joonas Donskoi
Tomas Hertl -- Logan Couture -- Kevin Labanc
Mikkel Boedker -- Chris Tierney -- Jannik Hansen
Marcus Sorensen -- Barclay Goodrow -- Melker Karlsson
Joakim Ryan -- Brent Burns
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Justin Braun
Brenden Dillon -- Dylan DeMelo
Martin Jones
Aaron Dell
Scratched: Tim Heed
Injured: Joe Thornton (knee), Joel Ward (shoulder)

Status report

Forward Antoine Roussel (back spasms) did not play Friday but practiced briefly Saturday and is questionable. ... Burns, who played the first period and part of the second at forward against Vancouver, is expected to stick to his regular position as a defenseman against Dallas.

Stat pack

Couture has 12 points (six goals, six assists) in his past 13 games. ... Benn has 24 points (eight goals, 16 assists) in his past 24 games. ... Bishop made 26 saves In a 6-0 win against the Sharks on Dec. 31.