Radek Faksa is expected to return to the lineup Friday against Chicago after missing three games with a lower-body injury. That'll be part of a shuffle at center that could be worth watching.
With Faksa back in, it's expected he will center Michael Raffl and Luke Glendening (the Stars held an optional practice in the morning with no line rushes), so that means Glendening could move back to right wing and Joel Kiviranta could slide to the fourth line or be a healthy scratch. In addition, Stars coach Rick Bowness said he'll likely use Jamie Benn more at center on the second line, to help make line changes easier.
"He likes going left wing/center, back and forth, he likes that," Bowness said. "And he takes a lot of faceoffs. I think we'll do more of that, let him play center, let him play left wing."
Because he's left-handed and Tyler Seguin's right-handed, Benn will take faceoffs and then play center anyway, especially if the draw is in the defensive zone. What's more, Bowness could use Benn as a center on a different line for a specific faceoff, and then the changes will be a little harder when he wants to get Seguin into the game.
Mix into that the fact that Glendening has won 57.6 percent of his draws this season, and who lands in the dot starts to become quite a strategic discussion.
Faksa said he's recovered from being cross-checked in the hip and said he feels good.
"Every day I was getting better and better," he said. "I'm happy I'm back."
