Oilers at Stars preview

OILERS (13-11-2) at STARS (14-10-3)
8:30 p.m. ET; FS-SW, TVAS, SNW, NHL.TV

The Oilers are 4-1-1 since hiring Ken Hitchcock as coach Nov. 20, replacing Todd McLellan. Hitchcock went 42-32-8 and missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs as coach of the Stars last season. He also coached there from 1995-96 to 2001-02 and led Dallas to the Stanley Cup in 1999.
The Stars return home following back-to-back wins to close a 2-1-1 four-game road trip. They lost 1-0 in overtime against the Oilers at Rogers Place on Nov. 27.

Players to watch

Oilers forward Connor McDavid has 12 points (four goals, eight assists) in his past nine games. He didn't practice Monday morning because of an illness but is expected to play.
Stars forward Jamie Benn has goals in four of his past five games with four points (two goals, two assists) in the past two games.

They said it

"It's not just winning championships or making the playoffs for me here. It's the growth of the game. We talk about that all the time, all the kids that played minor hockey." -- Oilers coach Ken Hitchcock on his legacy in Dallas
"We play with a lot more energy. Our fans get us into it. So I expect us to have a lot more offensive pop to our game." - Stars coach Jim Montgomery on playing at home after being shut out in Edmonton last week

Oilers projected lineup

Leon Draisaitl -- Connor McDavid -- Alex Chiasson
Drake Caggiula -- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Jesse Puljujarvi
Milan Lucic -- Kyle Brodziak -- Zack Kassian
Jujhar Khaira -- Ryan Spooner -- Ty Rattie
Oscar Klefbom -- Adam Larsson
Darnell Nurse -- Kris Russell
Kevin Gravel -- Matt Benning
Mikko Koskinen
Cam Talbot
Scratched:Jason Garrison, Chris Wideman, Valentin Zykov](https://www.nhl.com/player/valentin-zykov-8477458)
Injured:Andrej Sekera (Achilles), Tobias Rieder (upper body)

Stars projected lineup

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

Status report

Spooner didn't skate Monday because of an illness but is expected to play. … Radulov will play after missing practice Sunday with general soreness. … Comeau won't play to be with his wife, who went into labor Monday.

Stat pack

Hitchcock is 13-6-1 with one tie in 21 games as the visiting coach in Dallas. … The Stars are 2-for-29 (6.9 percent) on the power play in their past 10 games.