Return of Sekera could shuffle deck for Stars on defense

Stars (15-14-12, 42 points) vs. Blue Jackets (15-20-9, 39 points)

DALLAS --The Stars' defense has been a pretty consistent entity throughout the season, but a couple of injuries and the recent acquisition of Sami Vatanen could mean there will be choices to made every game.
Veteran defenseman Andrej Sekera, who is playing 15:19 a game, was struck by a puck Sunday and had to leave the game. He practiced Wednesday and is a game-time decision for Thursday's game against Columbus. If he plays, then either Vatanen or Joel Hanley will come out of the lineup. Hanley just signed a
two-year contract extension
on Wednesday, so the Stars really like him.
Still, having to choose between several players you like is a "good problem," as coaches like to say.
Slip into this mix the fact that Mark Pysyk was signed as a free agent in the off-season and has averaged 12:10 in 28 games, and you really do have a depth chart that goes eight deep.

Pysyk played some forward with Florida last season and also has played a couple of games as a winger for the Stars. He said he's open to that option if it is needed.
"I'm ready to do whatever to get in the lineup and stay in the lineup, whatever is needed," Pysyk said.
Hanley has the same mindset. The 29-year-old has played 70 games with Montreal, Arizona and Dallas, as well as 359 games in the AHL. He seized an opportunity to become a solid sixth-seventh defenseman in the playoffs and has built on that this year.
"He's so very reliable," said Stars coach Rick Bowness. "You go back to the bubble last year and he played really well for us, and that's continued into this year. You know what you're going to get every shift, every game from him, and that's big when you're in that role of the third pairing defenseman. The coach has to know what you're going to give him when you put him on the ice, and we're very comfortable putting Joel on the ice pretty much in any situation."

Hanley said he has just tried to stay focused on the day-to-day preparation.
"Opportunity is definitely a big thing," Hanley said. "I think I've worked hard in the off-season to kind of earn that opportunity. Obviously, confidence grows the more you play, and I'm just fortunate enough to get that opportunity and build off what I've done before."
He said getting a two-year extension with the Stars is a dream come true.
"You never know if this opportunity would come," Hanley said. "Just to be a part of the Dallas Stars moving forward is just so exciting. The future is very bright, and great leadership, amazing young players. It's just so exciting to be a part of that."

Stars know 'it's time to get going'

This is a huge stretch for the Stars. Dallas plays six games against the seventh- and eighth-place teams in the Central Division, including four at home.
If this team wants to make a run at catching Nashville, it needs to get on a run and start collecting points.
"It's time to get going," said Pysyk. "The energy in the room is there, the belief is there. I think we have been playing pretty good hockey as of late, and we need to continue doing that. Every point matters. I know that's said a lot, but we just need to look at our games in hand and the standings, we certainly have got to get on our way here.
The Blue Jackets traded away key players Nick Foligno, David Savard and Riley Nash before the trade deadline and have gone 2-8-2 in their past 12 games, but the Stars need to guard against taking them lightly.

"This is a hard-working team," Bowness said. "Regardless of their lineup, the name's have changed, but the way they play hasn't. They work hard, they forecheck hard, and they make you play hard. They're not going to give us a shift off, we know that."
Bowness said the Stars have worked hard to keep their players as fresh as possible and believes that a hard third period Tuesday against Florida is an example of the fact they do have the energy to make a run.
"I mentioned this a while ago -- the importance of managing our schedule, managing our days off, managing our practice time, managing our travel time -- all of that comes into play when you talk about mental freshness," Bowness said. "In my estimation, we've done a very good job of monitoring that.
"We are as good as we can possibly be in terms of managing the schedule and trying to keep them as fresh mentally and as fresh physically as we possibly can," he added. "You go back to our last game, the way we played in the third period, shows we're right there mentally and we're right there physically. That's a credit to the players."

Seguin skates with Stars for first time

Jake Oettinger will be in net after sitting for four Anton Khudobin starts.
Oettinger is 6-5-6 with a 2.29 goals against average and .917 save percentage. He is 3-0-1 against the Blue Jackets with a 1.92 GAA and .922 save percentage.
Roope Hintz has been skating and it looks like he could return to the lineup. There are other game-time decisions, Bowness said, so we'll have to wait until warm-up.

Tyler Seguin, who had off-season hip surgery, skated with the team Thursday morning for the first time. Seguin has been rehabbing in Frisco, and Stars GM Jim Nill said on Monday that the team would like to target Seguin's return to play as "two weeks." That would put it around April 26.
Bowness said on Thursday morning that the team will be cautious in getting Seguin back.
"Today was the first day he skated with us, and he looked good," Bowness said. "This is the next stage in getting him back. Just talking to him before practice, he enjoyed being around the guys again, having breakfast with the guys, so I think he was excited to be around the players today. He participated in the drills and looked good.
"We need to get him back as quick as we possibly can, but we won't put him back we know he's ready, but this is a big step forward in getting him ready to play," Bowness added.

By the numbers

26

The Stars have allowed 26 third-period goals, fewest in the NHL. Columbus has allowed 52 third period goals, 27th in the NHL.

10-4-9

Columbus is 10-4-9 in one-goal games. Dallas is 5-6-12. The Blue Jackets are 2-6 in overtime. Dallas is 1-6.

6-3-2

That's the record of the Stars for games in which Alexander Radulov has played this season. Radulov was shut down for the season on Wednesday after having surgery.

He said it

"He is very poised with the puck. He is not a very big guy, but he is not afraid to get in there to take a hit to make a play. He is up with the play really well. I think he is going to be a really good addition and is going to fit right in the way we play, and I really liked his poise with the puck in our zone and he doesn't make mistakes with it. He just has to get used to the tempo in which we play, but I really liked his game for the first game coming in and arriving last night. Give the kid credit. He played a very strong game for us." -- Bowness on the play of Vatanen in his first game with the Stars 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, and listen to his podcast.