'We feel great coming home': Stars look to bounce back against Wild

At the start of Thursday's practice in Frisco, Stars goaltender Anton Khudobin was in his net without a goalie stick, waving his arms toward the bench trying to get someone's attention.
The Stars netminder was poking a little fun at what happened in the third period of Tuesday's game when his stick broke, and he frantically tried to get a new one, just before the Devils scored their third goal.
Like Tuesday, Khudobin never got his stick. This time it was planned, though, because at the other end of the ice, goaltender Ben Bishop was without his stick as well. As the first practice drill got underway, all the forwards and defensemen were handling the puck and shooting with their opposite hands.
It was a fun couple of minutes, but with a purpose, according to Stars coach Jim Montgomery.

"It's a little bit of [lightening the mood], but it's more -- and I learned this from Paul Kariya -- if you have people switch hands, it makes them think on the other side of their brains and makes them more creative," Montgomery said. "And then they are better when they go back to their strong sides."
And the Stars are hoping to get better as they return home after a disappointing two-game road trip that saw them lose to Ottawa, 4-1, and New Jersey, 3-1-0. The two losses dropped the Stars to 3-3-0 on the season.
"There's no reason to panic. I am sure the coaches have mentioned, we've got a new system, new coaching staff, a lot of new faces. We're going to have some growing pains," said defenseman Marc Methot. "The way you respond is you practice hard the way we did today, keep a positive attitude in the dressing room, encourage each other and make sure we keep each other accountable. I think we are doing that. We've got to work towards that next game."
That next game is Friday against Minnesota, the first of three straight at American Airlines Center where the Stars have played well, winning three of four this season.
It's a good opportunity to get back on track.

"It's really important. We're a team that should never lose maybe more than two in a row. You don't want to lose two in a row; it's going to happen. But you have to bounce back," said defenseman John Klingberg. "Instead of going on a losing streak and feeling bad about your team, you have to bounce back and start winning again. We're going to take a lot of responsibility this year to bounce back. We feel great coming home. We have a lot of confidence playing at home."
The road has been a different story for the Stars, and it's something they know they need to fix. The previous two seasons they were a combined 28-44-10, and they are off to a 0-2-0 start in 2018-19. The Stars were in good shape Monday in Ottawa until late in the second when the Senators scored to tie the game, got some momentum and then rode that to take the lead for good early in the third.
"We played good enough to win that game," said Klingberg. "Just some bad bounces, breakdowns and individual mistakes led to a loss in that game."
The Devils had the Stars on their heels from the drop of the puck Tuesday and presented a blueprint for Dallas with their relentless style of play.
"I think they play a little bit like we want to, so that was a learning lesson for us for sure," Klingberg said. "We can all learn a little bit watching on the video how they play as far as playing that ourselves."
Montgomery said he wants to put the road record on the backburner for now and focus on getting the team's game in order right now and generating some offense.
"We need to get better at our team identity, so we are really focusing on our play without the puck - our forecheck, our reload, our defensemen's gaps, our breaking the puck out of the (defensive) zone," he said. "We think we've made a mistake as a staff, myself in particular, about trying to get too dynamic offensively too quickly. It's taken away our players' aggressiveness. We're thinking too much on the ice. That being said, we think if we get better with our puck pressure and our identity of being relentless, it's going to create odd-man rushes.
"We've got to get more consistent with that and players' offense will come with that, and then we can start adding the layers of offense that we want."
And the Stars can take the first step getting there with this upcoming homestand.

Line juggling

Stars coach Jim Montgomery juggled his lines in Thursday's practice. Among the moves was Jason Spezza centering Devin Shore and Tyler Pitlick. Radek Faksa had Mattias Janmark and Blake Comeau on his wings.
"I thought Jason Spezza was our best player on the road trip, especially in New Jersey, so I tried some different combinations," Montgomery said. "I put Shore up there with him. I've taken Pitlick off Faksa's line for the first time, both of them seem not confident right now offensively. So, switch things up and maybe look at the game a little differently when you change things."
Brett Ritchie skated on the top line with Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin, possibly as a placeholder for Alexander Radulov, who did not skate Thursday. The fourth line was Jason Dickinson, Roope Hintz, and Gemel Smith.
Ben Bishop will start in goal on Friday

Medical matters: Nichushkin out against Minnesota

• Radulov did not practice, but he is expected to play Friday. Radulov left Tuesday's game in the third period with a minor issue.
• Forward Valeri Nichushkin, who sat out Tuesday's game in New Jersey due to soreness, did not practice Thursday and is out for Friday.
• Defenseman Stephen Johns (post-traumatic headaches) had a good practice Thursday, going a little bit longer than the team expected.
"Skating real well," Montgomery said. "I was actually surprised he did two more drills than we expected, so very positive signs."
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mark Stepneski has covered the Stars for DallasStars.com since 2012. Follow him on Twitter @StarsInsideEdge.