What to watch for as Stars open Eastern swing at Rangers

NEW YORK --The Dallas Stars hope to find some road relief from their recent Western woes as they begin a four-game swing against Eastern Conference foes with a clash Monday night at Madison Square Garden against the Rangers.
Here's what to watch for.

Mental test

Let's not sugarcoat this: the Stars were rocked by a week that saw them go 0-3-0 against top Western Conference opponents as they came up short against Nashville (5-2), St. Louis (3-0) and Vegas (5-3).
From game to game, it was a combination of mental errors, lack of discipline, lack of finish and lack of timely stops in goal that combined to keep the Stars from collecting points. Going into last week, the Stars had won five in a row -- and seven of eight -- and rightfully looked to those three games as a test of their ability to compete with the legitimate contenders in the conference.
The results, however, revealed a sobering truth that, at this point in time, the Stars aren't there yet.
"I think the buy-in has to increase," head coach Ken Hitchcock said before the start of the Eastern trip that will include games against the Rangers, Islanders, Devils and Flyers over a six-day period.
"It's not one player. It's not one person. It's collective. It was a disappointing week. It's a new week, starting (Monday), but it was a disappointing week. Disappointing because we really wanted to measure ourselves against top teams, and it was disappointing. There's no other way to describe it. And I don't know if it's revealing or if it's a bump in the road. I don't know. We were progressing nicely. I don't think we leveled off. I think we took a step backwards."

Response time

So, here's the reality of the situation, having taken that step backward. The Stars will play four games on the road, where it has been a struggle for them most of the season. On the plus side, they have won three of four away from home, including impressive wins in Las Vegas, Chicago and Colorado.
The reality of the NHL is that, apart from a handful of teams whose seasons are pretty much over, there are no easy dates on the schedule. Sounds like a cliché, but it's simply the truth.
That holds true for the Stars' current trip as even Philadelphia has won three in a row after a 10-game winless streak. The other three Metropolitan teams Dallas will face all have point totals higher than the Stars. That means a number of elements of the Stars' game must come together, and quickly, if they're going to regain the mojo they enjoyed late last month.
That means fewer penalties (they took seven minors in the loss to St. Louis), and better (or at least some) production from a power-play unit that has just one goal in its last 10 games and is currently riding an 0-for-11 streak with the man advantage.
The team's defensive play, which had been exemplary for most of the season, has started to break down, and Hitchcock is looking to correct those detail issues in a hurry, too.
"The step backward, it was in a number of areas but connected to the same fabric, if I can describe it that way," Hitchcock said. "There was a number of breakdowns, but they were all connected to the same thought process. And that is disappointing.
"Now, we've got a chance to see if we can amp it up."
Part of the restorative process began Sunday when the team opted for a full practice instead of an optional skate.
"We were not planning to go on the ice collectively (Sunday), but we did and we had a very focused, challenging practice (Sunday)," Hitchcock said, "to try to get back to the fabric that we had put in place here that got a little frayed."

More tinkering

That brings us to Monday, where the Stars continued to alter their routine and their lineup as the team opted not to take a morning skate at Madison Square Garden after Sunday's vigorous practice.
Jason Dickinson joined the team from AHL Texas and will play center, regardless of the health of Antoine Roussel, who took a hit to the elbow after returning to the lineup following a four-game absence due to illness, and whose availability against the Rangers remains uncertain.
Rookie Julius Honka will return to the lineup, as well, although who comes out will be determined by the health of Greg Pateryn, who suffered a thigh contusion on Saturday. Presumably, Honka, who has zero points in nine games with the Stars thus far and who last played Dec. 3 at Colorado, will get a chance to employ his considerable skating and puck-handling skills on the second power-play unit against a Ranger team that is 10-1 in their last nine home games.

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Kari time again

Interesting decision in goal as Kari Lehtonen will get his second start in three games for the Stars.
In general, you'd have penciled in the veteran backup for the second of back-to-back games on this trip, with starter Ben Bishop getting the other three starts. But things are not as expected for the Stars on a number of fronts, and Lehtonen was excellent in a losing effort against St. Louis, allowing two power-play goals and stopping 24 of 26 overall.
Bishop was pulled early in the second period against Nashville, and then allowed four goals on 38 shots in the loss to Vegas.
At this stage, it's all about the wins for the Stars -- even if it takes an unconventional approach to getting them.

Hanzal on deck

One of the more interesting revelations as this trip begins is that Martin Hanzal, out with a hamstring issue, is not just on the trip, but is expected to play at some point. He has not played since suffering another injury in Vegas on Nov. 28.
It has been a wildly-frustrating year for the big center, who signed a three-year deal with Dallas in the offseason, as a host of injuries have kept him from truly finding his rhythm with the team. He has one goal -- an empty-netter on Oct. 10 -- two assists and is a minus-10 on the season. But make no mistake, this is a better Stars team with him in the lineup.
His ability to win draws, kill penalties and provide a net-front presence on the second powe-play unit is crucial to the game plan Hitchcock wants to implement. What is surprising is that Hitchcock said after the last injury that Hanzal was week-to-week and that they wouldn't be bringing him back until he's 100 percent to help reduce the chance of yet another on again, off again situation with his presence in the lineup.
But here he is with the team, and apparently, on the cusp of playing. And while it seems unlikely he will play Monday against the Rangers, he appears to be close to a return.
"Hanzal had a great day (Sunday), so that's a good sign," Hitchcock said. "We'll see where he's at. Whether he's ready for one of the games in New York and then we'll go from there."
Hitchcock said his performance in Sunday's intense practice -- that followed another strong workout session the day before -- was encouraging.
"He's expected to play. He was full practice (Sunday), which was a great sign," Hitchcock said. "He had a great day (Saturday) so he's awful close."
This story was not subject to approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club. You can follow Scott on Twitter at @OvertimeScottB, and listen to his Burnside Chats podcast here.