Marian Studenic returns to lineup Thursday in place of Denis Gurianov

Stars (37-25-3, 77 points) vs. Ducks (27-30-11, 65 points)

With two extra forwards and the need to find out what newcomers like Marián Studenič and Vladislav Namestnikov can do, the Stars on Thursday will scratch Denis Gurianov.
Gurianov, 24, was a first-round draft pick (12th overall) in 2015, and has worked hard to become a lineup regular, but coaches have had trouble with his defensive coverage and how he attacks the net in transition, and that's led to the occasional healthy scratch. Stars coach Rick Bowness said it's Gurianov's turn to sit.
"He's an offensive player and there's been absolutely nothing happening offensively for four or five games," Bowness said. "I don't expect every player to be the most reliable defensively, that's not everyone's makeup, but when you're not going to be reliable defensively, you have to be able to put some offense on the board, and that's just not happening right now."

Gurianov didn't have a shot on goal or any points in a 3-2 win against these same Ducks on Tuesday and has no points in his past three games. He has five points in the previous seven games, but he generated just eight shots on goal while playing beside the likes of Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn.
Bowness said Gurianov's responded well to previous healthy scratches. "We've done it before where we let him sit out and watch a game," he said. "It got him going last time and we're hoping it gets him going again because we need him."
Rookie Jacob Peterson has grabbed more minutes and more responsibility in recent games. He has three goals and an assist in the past four games and has 12 goals on the season.
Mix that in with the fact the coaching staff has had to juggle lines to get the most out of players like Seguin, Benn and Alexander Radulov, and there are going to be some tough decisions.
"You just keep encouraging him to do what he does well, and that's skate with the puck, that's when you notice him," Bowness said. "If you're not seeing him skate with the puck down the wing, that's what we're trying to fix - on a consistent basis, not sporadic. You can't be fooled by one good shift. If there's one good shift and seven or eight that are way off, you can't hide behind that one good shift."

What to watch

Seguin hasn't scored a goal in 21 games against the Ducks. That's surprising. Seguin has 10 assists, but Anaheim's the only team where Seguin's been stymied (he hasn't scored in one game against Seattle, but it's one game).
He has four goals in 27 games against the Rangers and five in 17 against the Red Wings, but this drought's noticeable.
"Hopefully, I break that tonight," Seguin said before Tuesday's game.
He did not.
So, the pressure will continue. It's sort of the way of the NHL. But Seguin's been through slumps before and he's found a way to break through. The 30-year-old forward is in a three-game point slump, but he got five in six games before that. He's still recovering from surgery that kept him out for most of last season, and his numbers are lagging behind his career average.
However, he feels better and said he's getting back to normal.
"I think it took a little bit of this season to really grasp that and almost get over it in a way," Seguin said. "I'd be lying if I said that wasn't definitely something new, something that I kind of had to understand and kind of play through and kind of get used to. I feel like I grabbed it as the second half went along."
Now, as his team battles to get into a playoff spot, they could use a nice run from Seguin. A goal against the Ducks would be a really good start.

Lineup update

Jake Oettinger is back in goal after a 3-2 win on Tuesday.
Esa Lindell is battling an upper-body injury and is a game-time decision. If he's out, the thought is Andrej Sekera would take his place, as both are key penalty killers.
Here's a possible lineup:
Robertson-Hintz-Pavelski
Namestnikov-Seguin-Studenic
Peterson-Benn-Radulov
Raffl-Faksa-Glendening
Suter-Hakanpaa
Lindell/Sekera-Klingberg
Hanley-Heiskanen
Oettinger
Wedgewood

Numbers

58 percent

Dallas won 58 percent of the faceoffs in Tuesday's 3-2 win. Benn went 10-for-16 in the dot. Dallas ranks second in the NHL in faceoff wins at 54.5 percent. Anaheim is 19th at 48.8 percent.

24:30

Ryan Suter led the Stars in time on ice Tuesday at 24:30. He had four shots on goal and eight shot attempts. The 37-year-old leads Dallas in season ice time at 1,526 minutes. Lindell is second at 1,453.

800

Cam Fowler is expected to play in his 800th regular-season game with the Ducks on Thursday. Many Stars fans were upset back in 2010 when the Stars passed on Fowler and took goalie Jack Campbell at No. 11. Anaheim scooped up Fowler at No. 12 that year and he's been a Duck ever since.

He said it

"It's pretty special. They don't really have the opportunity to come watch me play. I think that's the first time Michael's watched me play in five or six] years. My nephew has never watched me play. Today was a little more special." *-- Stars froward Jason Robertson, who grew up in Southern California and had several family members at Tuesday's game in Anaheim, including his brother Michael. He expects another big crowd Thursday
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
[Mike Heikais a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika.*