Little practiced in a non-contact jersey Monday for the first time since he left in the second period of a 6-5 shootout loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Feb. 18. He was hit at mid-ice by defenseman Anton Stralman and has missed one game because of a neck injury.
"He didn't step back from [practice] coming in [Tuesday], but didn't walk in and say 'I'm ready and right,'" Jets coach Paul Maurice said. "[Wednesday] is the big day. If he can get through practice [Wednesday] in a contact sweater and then get off that flight…then we would look for him in Dallas [on Thursday], hopefully."
Goalie Ondrej Pavelec will start for the fourth time in five games since he returned from a knee injury. No other lineup changes are planned for the Jets, who are last in the Central Division and have lost three games in a row.
Dallas has won the first three games of the season series.
"We've played them tough," Jets right wing Blake Wheeler said. "We have had some battles. It's just one mistake that they've capitalized on here or there, and they've pulled away from us."
The Stars, who have also lost three straight games, will be without forwards Patrick Eaves (illness) and Travis Moen (lower body). Goalie Antti Niemi will start for Dallas
Slowing down the Jets' offensive rush will be a focus for Stars coach Lindy Ruff.
"If we play our game, we'll be alright," Ruff said. "I think we've got to make sure that we take away some of the rush game. I think the strength of guys like Wheeler and that is definitely on the rush, and I think the big guy (Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien) on the back end there has always been dangerous."
Stars captain Jamie Benn is looking forward to back-to-back games against a Central Division rival.
"I think it's awesome," Benn said. "It's kind of like a bit of a mini-playoff series. It's going to be high-paced and physical, and we'll see what happens out there."
Here are the projected lineups:
STARS
Jamie Benn - Tyler Seguin - Jason Spezza
Antoine Roussel - Cody Eakin - Patrick Sharp
Valeri Nichushkin - Mattias Janmark - Ales Hemsky
Vernon Fiddler - Radek Faksa - Colton Sceviour
Alex Goligoski - John Klingberg
Johnny Oduya - Jason Demers
Patrik Nemeth - Jordie Benn
Antti Niemi
Kari Lehtonen
Injured: Patrick Eaves (illness), Travis Moen (lower body)
Scratched: Jyrki Jokipakka, Jamie Oleksiak
JETS
Nikolaj Ehlers - Mark Scheifele - Blake Wheeler
Alexander Burmistrov - Mathieu Perreault - Drew Stafford
Andrew Ladd - Adam Lowry - Joel Armia
Chris Thorburn - Andrew Copp - Anthony Peluso
Toby Enstrom - Dustin Byfuglien
Tyler Myers - Jacob Trouba
Ben Chiarot - Paul Postma
Ondrej Pavelec
Michael Hutchinson
Injured: Grant Clitsome (back), Bryan Little (neck), Mark Stuart (hand)
Scratched: Adam Pardy
Status report:Moen will miss his sixth consecutive game. "He's game-ready," Ruff said. "We're just getting him a couple of extra practices and [then] we'll get him in."…The prognosis for Eaves is less optimistic. "Eaves looks like he is going to be missing a little bit of time," Ruff said. "He's pretty sick. From what I understand, it could be a week-to-10 days before he gets back."…The subject of rumors leading up to the 2016 NHL Trade Deadline, this could be Ladd's final home game. He joined the organization in 2010.
Who's hot: Hemsky has scored in each of his past two games. … Jamie Benn has a goal and two assists in his past two games. … Ladd has three goals in his past two games.
