Notes: Wings expecting fired-up Seguin and Benn in Dallas

DALLAS -- While the Red Wings are trying to get back to the way they played a month ago despite missing some important players due to injury, the Dallas Stars are the focus of the hockey world after their CEO called out their top players in almost unprecedented fashion.

Stars CEO Jim Lites, the former Wings chief operating officer, called out Tyler Seguin and captain Jamie Benn in no uncertain terms Friday, telling the Dallas Morning News, "What nobody says is what is completely obvious to me: We are getting terrible play from our top two players."
Lites made even stronger comments but the basic message was that Seguin and Benn are relied upon and paid well to drive the team and they're not doing that at the highest level.
Seguin, 26, leads the Stars in points with 32 (11-21-32) and Benn leads the team in goals with 15 and is second in points with 30.
Both players responded to the comments before Saturday night's game against the Wings.
"No response. I hear the message," Seguin said. "I think Jamie and I hear the message. I think our whole team hears it. We know we got to play better, we understand that.. We're going to continue to work every day and keep getting better, come to the rink every day with the Stars in my heart, they're my team, where I wanted to be, why I signed here. I'll continue to work."
Said Benn: "Interested. Obviously I read the article and it is what it is. People have their opinions on the outside and all it really is is in a ways I think is knowing there's a situation within the organization I try to keep it within the organization and deal with it face to face, but that being said, I come to the rink every day and wear the Dallas Stars jersey proudly and play hard for the fans and my teammates in here."

Naturally, the Wings were surprised to see Seguin and Benn called out so vociferously.
"You don't see it a whole lot," Larkin said. "The two players that were called out are great players. I think they're really hard to play against. I think it's pretty unfortunate we got to face them tonight. I think they know there's more. As a player if that happens to myself or a teammate, you know that someone's having a down season, there's no one kicking themselves more than themselves because they know they have more and they want their team to be in a better position. It's unfortunate to see it, but I guess those two guys are great players."
Ultimately, the Wings know they can't worry about drama in their opponent's dressing room, they have to take care of their own business.
"You walk into every game, you go to play your best hockey to have an opportunity to win," Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "It doesn't matter what's happened on the other side. We know that if you don't play your best hockey you're not going to have a chance to win and if you play your best hockey you still got to execute for a full 60. So we're just going to concentrate."
The Stars are fourth in the Central Division and eighth in the Western Conference with 41 points in 38 games.

BISHOP IN GOAL: The Stars got a brilliant performance from goaltender Anton Khudobin Thursday in Nashville as he made 49 saves in a 2-0 shutout.
But coach Jim Montgomery said Ben Bishop would get the call against the Wings.
Bishop is 13-5-0 with a 1.99 goals-against average, .923 save percentage and one shutout in 20 career games against Detroit.
"We've seen him a lot, when he was in Tampa," Larkin said. "He's good through traffic. He's a big body, he's a big blocker. You got to get him moving, lots of shots off his pads. We got to be hungry around the net for second and third opportunities."
Bishop is also 6-foot-7, 215 pounds, making him one of the biggest goaltenders in the league.
"Bishop presents his own challenge," Blashill said. "One, he gets to every puck on the forecheck, so you gotta keep the puck away from him. He's as good at playing the puck as anybody in the league in the net position, as good as a lot of defensemen, probably. You really gotta to do a good job of keeping the puck away from him. So that's one distinct thing. Bigger goalies, I don't know that it's a different thing with a bigger/smaller goalie. Like anybody, if you can get him in rebound situations, moving side to side, that's your best chance to score lots of times. So we're going to have to make sure we've got a shooting mentality, we've got great net presence and we get to as many of those second chances as we can."
Jonathan Bernier was first off the ice after the team's optional morning skate at American Airlines Center.
In 14 career games against Dallas, Bernier is 8-4-1 with a 2.14 goals-against average, .928 save percentage and two shutouts.
Bernier made 28 saves against the Stars in a 4-2 Wings victory on Oct. 28 at Little Caesars Arena.
INJURY UPDATES: During the season's opening month, the Wings struggled without veteran defensemen Mike Green, Niklas Kronwall, Danny DeKeyser and Trevor Daley.
They went 3-7-2 in October but rebounded in November once they got some of those players back, going 8-4-1.
Green is out again, having missed the last seven games with a lower-body injury, and DeKeyser has missed the last 11 with a hand injury.
"Mike was playing excellent hockey," Blashill said. "He's played excellent hockey for us this year. I think he's been very good for us for a number of years, but I think this year he was playing excellent. When a guy is on top of his game like that and you lose him it's a tough loss. I would also say that in both instances we had other D-men out at the same time. There's certain times you can absorb injuries and certain times where they hurt you a little bit more, especially on the D corps, especially with the guys he's been out with, it makes it a lot harder. I would say DK has played excellent for us as well. To lose both at the same time is not an easy loss. It's one we got to find a way to be on top of."
The Wings have gone 4-7-3 in December and are 1-5-2 in their last eight games.
Their absence can also be felt on special teams, where Green quarterbacked one power play and DeKeyser was a penalty-killing stalwart.
Forward Anthony Mantha has also been a tough loss as he has missed the last 12 games after having surgery on his hand.
"I would say on all those guys you're looking at mid-January," Blashill said. "Is it a few days before, is it a few days after? I don't have that answer right now."
Darren Helm, who has missed 19 games since suffering a shoulder injury Nov. 17 in New Jersey, is the closest player to returning.
Helm participated again in the optional morning skate after practicing with the team Friday.
"I think he's close enough that, he practiced yesterday, was able to do a little more than he did the day before, so we just got to monitor his progress," Blashill said. "He's skating today. He'll continue to push it a little bit here and hopefully … I don't know when that means he's ready but he's getting close. I would say within the week."