Bowness, Holtby to reach significant milestones in key matchup vs. Canes

Stars (10-7-2, 22 points) vs. Hurricanes (15-4-1, 31 points)

The Stars will officially recognize head coach Rick Bowness on Tuesday for being behind the bench for 2,500 NHL games. Bowness, who started as an assistant coach with Winnipeg at age 28 in 1983 has participated in more NHL games as an assistant or head coach than any person in league history.
Bowness has spent most of his time as an assistant coach, but he was also a head coach for 576 games, including 113 with the Stars. He said he doesn't make a big deal about the numbers, but he's proud of his longevity.
"I was younger than some of the players when I started, and now I'm old enough to be some of their grandfathers," he joked.
Most longevity records are given to head coaches, and Scott Bowman holds the NHL record with at 2,141. Bowness said he understands how different the two marks are. But his son Ricky brought up the mark as he neared 2,000 games a few years back, and he's now embraced the number.
"Twenty-five hundred is unofficial, I get that, but it's something when you look back on your career, I'm 66 now, you're like, `OK, we've been able to hang on, let's keep pushing here.'"
Stars captain Jamie Benn said the players are excited about celebrating the accomplishment with the man known as "Bones."
"Pretty amazing stuff," Benn said. "That's a lot of games to be coaching and we're going to try to win that one for him."
Asked what it means to get to that level, Benn said: "That just says what kind of person he is and what kind of a coach he is. He's somebody who cares about his team first and his players and gets a lot of respect from the players that play for him. He came in with a lot of energy and a big voice and a great personality. He's just someone you want to be around, and you want to play for."
Bowness will turn 67 on Jan. 25, but said he still loves coming to work every day.
"I always say every day in this league is a blessing, it is, and we're fortunate to be able to make a living playing a game," he said. "And the fact I've been able to spend my entire life around the National Hockey League is an honor for me."

What to watch

The Stars have gone through a run of "tests" and come through with big wins against St. Louis, Edmonton and Colorado. But this might be the biggest. Carolina comes in with a 15-4-1 record and leads the league in points percentage at .775.
The Hurricanes currently rank third in goals against at 2.15 and eighth in goals for at 3.30. They rank third in fewest shots against at 28.4 and are third in penalty kill success rate at 87.3 percent.
Dallas was in the same division as Carolina last season and went 2-4-2 in eight games.
"We played them eight times last year and we have nothing but respect for the job their coaches do," Bowness said. "This team is a heavy forechecking team and it's four lines and it's relentless. We've had some tough games, there is no question. We've beaten Colorado, St. Louis, we've beaten some top teams in this league, but I think [Carolina] will probably be the toughest team we play so far."
Even so, Bowness stopped short of calling it a measuring stick.
"We measure ourselves up against us," he said. "We try to play Dallas Stars hockey. We've done that and we've won six out of the last seven, we've brought the goals against down, so we're moving the way we want, and we're scoring goals because we're playing better defensively. We have to play our hockey. You want to beat the top teams, but more importantly it's making sure we play our game against the top teams. When we do that, we're capable of beating anybody."

Lineup updates

Braden Holtby will get the start against the Hurricanes in a milestone appearance. The veteran netminder will become the 10th active goalie to appear in 500 career contests and could surpass Jacques Plante (292-119-88 in 500 GP) for the most wins by a goaltender in NHL history through his 500th game. (Holtby has a record of 292-137-50 in 499 GP).

Expected lines vs. Hurricanes

Robertson-Hintz-Pavelski
Raffl-Benn-Gurianov
Peterson-Faksa-Radulov
Kiviranta-Seguin-Glendening
Suter-Klingberg
Lindell-Heiskanen
Sekera-Hakanpaa
Holtby
Oettinger

Numbers

.931

Holtby is 16-7-1 in his career against Carolina with a 2.15 goals-against average and .931 save percentage.

31

Benn has 31 points (14 goals, 17 assist) in 26 career games against Carolina.

7

Jason Robertson has seven points (two goals, five assists) in six career games against Carolina.

He said it

"I think we're getting good goaltending, to start. Special teams are getting a little bit better, and we're committed from top to bottom in playing better defense as a group. We do that, and we're getting our scoring chances and they're going in." - Benn on the team's success as of late
Great seats are still available for tonight's Stars game against Carolina. Get your tickets now!
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.