Hitchcock juggling Stars' forward lines against Ducks

The Dallas Stars kick off a key back-to-back tonight that will see them play two Pacific Division teams in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race and two teams nipping at the Stars' heels in the standings.
The Stars play the Anaheim Ducks tonight at Honda Center and the Los Angeles Kings Thursday at Staples Center. Both teams are just one point behind the Stars, and it's a chance for Dallas to create some separation from both in what is still a very tight race in the West. Both the Ducks and the Kings are playing well and riding three-game winning streaks.

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"The challenge for us is two heavyweight teams," said Stars coach Ken Hitchcock. "They are two, big strong hockey clubs that are physical. There is a price to pay to win at this time of year. If we want to win the game, we are going to have to pay a heavy price in both games. I am curious and excited to look and see how we do. These are teams, quite frankly, we are going to have to beat out if we expect to get a playoff spot."
The Stars will come into tonight's game healthy. Martin Hanzal, who missed Sunday's game in San Jose due to "general soreness," will be back in the lineup tonight. Hanzal will center Jason Spezza and Brett Ritchie. Hitchcock is juggling his forward lines and is reworking things down the middle. Jamie Benn will play center tonight and is expected to have Devin Shore and Alexander Radulov on his wings. Tyler Seguin will center Remi Elie and Mattias Janmark.
The line of Antoine Roussel, Radek Faksa and Tyler Pitlick is the one line that will remain the same.

Hitchcock said he is changing this lines with Anaheim rolling out Ryan Getzlaf, Ryan Kesler, and Adam Henrique down the middle tonight.
"There are three good centers on the other side, really four if [Antoine] Vermette moves in the middle," Hitchcock said. "They've got good depth there, they've got good balance there, and we're going to need the same kind of depth there to play against them."
The Stars will roll with the same six defensemen as last game. Ben Bishop will get the start in goal on the front end of the back-to-back. Kari Lehtonen is the expected starter Thursday against the Kings.
Julius Honka and Gemel Smith are the expected healthy scratches for tonight.
Tonight's game is the first meeting of the season between Dallas and Anaheim and is game two of the Stars' three-game California road trip.

Ducks Watch

Ryan Miller is the expected starter in goal for the Ducks tonight. Miller took over for the injured John Gibson during Monday's 2-0 win over Vegas, playing the entire third period and stopping all 20 shots he faced. Miller is 7-4-0 with a 2.63 goals against average and .918 save percentage this season. With Gibson out due to a lower-body injury, the Ducks recalled goaltender Reto Berra from the AHL Wednesday. The Ducks, who have won three straight and are 5-1-1 in their last seven games, are in ninth place in the West but just percentage points out of both third in the Pacific Division and the second wild-card spot in the conference.

Tonight's Game

Who: Dallas Stars at Anaheim Ducks
Where:Honda Center
When: 9:00 p.m.
TV:Fox Sports Southwest
Radio:The Ticket 1310 AM/96.7 FM

Stars Projected Lineup

Remi Elie - Tyler Seguin - Mattias Janmark
Devin Shore - Jamie Benn - Alexander Radulov
Antoine Roussel - Radek Faksa - Tyler Pitlick
Jason Spezza - Martin Hanzal - Brett Ritchie
Esa Lindell - John Klingberg
Dan Hamhuis - Greg Pateryn
Marc Methot - Stephen Johns
Ben Bishop
Kari Lehtonen
Scratched:Julius Honka, Gemel Smith
Injured:None

Ducks Projected Lineup

Rickard Rakell - Ryan Getzlaf - Corey Perry
Andrew Cogliano - Ryan Kesler - Jakob Silfverberg
Nick Ritchie - Adam Henrique - Ondrej Kase
Chris Wagner - Antoine Vermett - Derek Grant
Cam Fowler - Brandon Montour
Hampus Lindholm - Kevin Bieksa
Francois Beauchemin - Josh Manson
Ryan Miller
Reto Berra
Scratched:J.T. Brown, Marcus Pettersson
Injured:John Gibson (lower body), Patrick Eaves (illness)
This story was not subject to approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mark Stepneskiis an independent writer whose posts on DallasStars.com reflect his own opinions and do not represent official statements from the Dallas Stars. You can follow him on Twitter @StarsInsideEdge.