Preview: Stars aim to get back on track in Arizona

Dallas Stars at Arizona Coyotes

About the Stars

The Stars came out of the All-Star break with a 3-0 loss to the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings took a 1-0 lead three minutes into the game and controlled play for most of the night. The Stars, who lost to Toronto 4-1 in their final game before the break, have lost consecutive games in regulation for the first time since early December.
"That's two games in a row. That's the concern for us," said Stars coach Ken Hitchcock. "The game before the break a team came in and checked us hard and we had no response and today the same thing. That's the concern, how do we respond to getting played hard? Instead of getting excited and digging in, we go the other way. You can beat it to death, but the bigger concern is that it's two games in a row. When you expect it to go up, and the league is going to go up now, we go the other way."
"Everyone knows what we're capable of and everyone is mad about the last couple of games," said defenseman Greg Pateryn. "Everyone knows that [Thursday] has to be a good game and we have to move forward from that. What happened the last two games happened. There are 82 games in a season for a reason."
Forward Antoine Roussel, who missed Tuesday's game with a nasal infection, practiced Wednesday. His status for Thursday's game will be determined in the morning. Defenseman Dan Hamhuis left Wednesday's practice early, but he is expected to play Thursday.
Kari Lehtonen will get the start in goal.
The Stars play at Arizona Thursday and then return home for games against Minnesota (Saturday) and New York Rangers (Monday).
Injuries: F Antoine Roussel (nasal infection) will be evaluated Thursday. C Martin Hanzal (pulled muscle) and D Marc Methot (knee) are out.

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About the Coyotes

This will be the first game out of the All-Star break for the Coyotes (12-29-9). They last played Thursday, losing 2-1 to Columbus in Glendale. The Coyotes are 3-2-4 in their last nine games with seven of those contests decided by one goal.
"The way we played this month, we got some traction," Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet told the team's official site. "Guys that haven't been playing well are starting to play well, and some guys that are playing well are continuing to play well. We're almost there in a sense that we're getting guys to buy in, in the sense of the way we're playing. We're close. I don't want to go backwards after a loss … We have to get better resiliency. That means stopping a losing streak. You lose a game it's 'OK, let's get back on the winning ways.' That's the way we have to approach it here for the next 30-something games."
Defenseman Alex Goligoski, who missed Thursday's game due to illness, returned to practice this week. Forward Brad Richardson (upper body) practiced Wednesday. Defenseman Jason Demers (upper body) and forward Jordan Martinook (upper body) did not practice Wednesday.
After Thursday's game against the Stars, the Coyotes head out on a three-game road trip.
Injuries: D Jason Demers (upper body), F Brad Richardson (upper body) and F Jordan Martinook (upper body) are day to day.

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Season Series

• This is the third and final meeting between the Stars and Coyotes this season.
• The Stars are 2-0-0 in the season series.
• Oct. 17, at Dallas; Stars 3, Coyotes 1
• Oct. 19, at Arizona: Stars 5, Coyotes 4

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Statistical Tidbits

This story was not subject to approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club. Mark Stepneski is 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 Mark on Twitter @StarsInsideEdge.