New line rushes in store as Stars look to break the skid in Montreal

Stars (32-23-3, 67 points) vs. Canadiens (16-36-8, 40 points)

MONTREAL -- The Stars have one goal in their past two road games and are in the middle of a three-game overall losing streak, so they'll shake things up Thursday against Montreal.
Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin will play on separate lines for the first time in a while, or at least start that way. Seguin is expected to center Luke Glendening and Jacob Peterson. Benn is expected to move to center between Denis Gurianov and Marián Studenič. And the fourth line will likely be Radek Faksa with Michael Raffl and Alexander Radulov.
"We've got one goal the last two road games. That's unacceptable, so we have to try things," Stars coach Rick Bowness said. "Nothing is off the board. We'll try anything to create some offense."
Dallas is 31st in road scoring at 2.31 goals per game. It's ninth in home scoring at 3.45 goals per game. The team's been better recently while on an 8-3-1 road run, but it's looked bad against Nashville and Toronto and is in the middle of a stretch where it'll play nine out of 11 games away from home.
So, change seems to be the solution for right now.
Bowness on Tuesday tried to reunite the Benn-Seguin-Radulov line that was strong for several seasons but faltered earlier this year. However, they allowed two goals in the first period, and looked out of sorts.
"When they're off, they're off defensively," Bowness said. "And if you're off and you're not creating any offense and you're off defensively, that's not a good combination."
And as strange as it sounds that the defense is creating problems with the offense, that's how the Stars operate. They play good defense, they create counterattacks and possession, and they outwork the opposition. Yes, there's some skill in finishing, but Seguin and Benn have two of the worst stat lines in terms of possession on the Stars this season. Benn is minus-129 in SAT (shot attempt differential at even strength), while Seguin is minus-91. The top line leads the team in SAT, with all three players plus-100 or better.
Bowness said the coaching staff is trying to show all players who to do things the right way and trying not to focus too much on mistakes.
"You can't take video to say 'It's all negative, it's all negative,'" he said. "That's not the point of it. The point of it is to make you better, say 'You can do this better than what you're doing here.'"

What to watch

Since moving to Dallas in 1993, the Stars haven't had a No. 1 goalie under the age of 25. But with injuries to their three veterans and a real surge from 23-year-old Jake Oettinger, it looks like they do this season. Oettinger will get the start for the 12th time in 13 games and is coming off a strong performance despite a 4-0 loss.
Oettinger struggled in a 7-4 loss to the Rangers on Saturday but came back Tuesday and stopped 36 shots to keep Dallas in a game in which it looked outmatched.
"He did great," said Seguin. "We wished we did a better job in front of him, for sure."
Oettinger said he was determined to bounce back.
"Everyone knows that last game wasn't my best game, and it's my job to give this team their best chance to win every night," he said.
Because Braden Holtby is dealing with a lower-body injury and is unable to back up right now, Oettinger has to respond. While he might've been pulled in the Rangers game or been given the next start off, he's carrying the weight right now. He said he embraces the challenge.
"This is what I've dreamed about my whole life - to be a No. 1 goalie in the NHL," he said. "They're giving me every opportunity, Jim [Nill] and Bones. I couldn't ask for a better opportunity, so now it's my job to make those guys proud and do what I can to help get this team into the playoffs."

Lineup update

Adam Scheel will serve as backup to Oettinger in Montreal. Peterson comes back in, Joel Kiviranta comes out.
Here's a possible lineup:
Robertson-Hintz-Pavelski
Peterson-Seguin-Glendening
Studenic-Benn-Gurianov
Raffl-Faksa-Radulov
Suter-Hakanpaa
Lindell-Klingberg
Harley-Hanley
Oettinger
Scheel

Numbers

16-36-8

Montreal has the fewest wins in the NHL at 16, one of which came against Dallas earlier in the season. The Canadiens rank last in scoring (2.47 goals per game) and in goals against (3.82).

299

Seguin has scored 299 career regular-season goals, so his next will be a milestone.

21

Stars forward Joe Pavelski has 21 points (nine goals, 12 assists) in 20 career games against Montreal.

He said it

"This time of year, we need wins, we need to move back into that top eight. The fact this team beat you before gets your attention, but at this time of the year, there's no excuses. It doesn't matter who you're playing, we need wins." -- Bowness on playing a Montreal team that's last in the standings
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.