Somebody moves into third place Tuesday, and the Stars hope it's them

Stars (32-20-3, 67 points) vs. Predators (31-20-4, 66 points)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. --The Stars have been on a run of playing teams close in the standings, and since they've been winning a lot of those game, it's been a wonderful experience.
Stars coach Rick Bowness on Sunday told his players they could catch Minnesota in the standings with a win, and they did that. Now, the motivation is to move into third place in the Central Division by playing a Nashville team that's just one point behind in the standings.
Bowness said the subject is always around, but not hammered home.
"We talk about it, but we don't pound it," he said. "They know where we are. They know the winner of tonight's game goes into third spot. Somebody is getting two points tonight, and they'll pass Minnesota. I know Minnesota has games in hands, but tonight somebody moves into that third spot, and it'd be nice to get that and nice to get a little gap between the other teams. And they're thinking the same thing over there."

With 27 games remaining, a lot can happen in the race for a playoff spot, but the fact the Stars keep playing teams close by in the standings has made the past few weeks fun. Among the huge games have been wins over Winnipeg (twice), LA and Minnesota. There also was a shootout loss in Nashville, so this is a great chance to make up for that.
"These are fun games," said forward Tyler Seguin. "It feels like we've had a lot of them the last 15 games. We know what to expect out of them, and they know what to expect out of us, and it's two teams that bring out the best in each other."
Dallas is 14-4-1 in its past 19 games.

What to watch

Jason Robertson is on a roll. The 22-year-old forward has six goals in the past two games - the first time in Dallas Stars history a player has tallied back-to-back hat tricks.
Robertson now has 29 goals in 47 games. He's second on the team in scoring at 54 points and leads the team in points per game (1.15) and plus-minus (+20).
Bowness said Robertson is simply on a roll right now.
"He's feeling it," Bowness said. "When you're feeling it, your timing is right on, of when to shoot it and where to put it. If you're not feeling it, you're rushing it."

Lineup update

Miro Heiskanen is out for the third game with illness but will be back on Saturday vs. New York.
Here's a possible lineup:
Robertson-Hintz-Pavelski
Benn-Seguin-Gurianov
Raffl-Faksa-Glendening
Tufte-Peterson-Radulov
Suter-Klingberg
Lindell-Hakanpaa
Harley-Hanley
Oettinger
Holtby

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Numbers

Minus-16

Seguin has struggled against the Predators as much as any team. In 35 games, he has 16 points (eight goals, eight assists) and is minus-16.

37

Dallas and Nashville are tied for third in fewest first-period goals allowed at 37.

2.25

Nashville goalie Juuse Saros has an 11-4-1 record in his career against Dallas with a 2.25 goals-against average and .924 save percentage.

He said it

"He's using his size. That's what he brings, size on the wing, he went to the net, scored a beautiful goal, finished his checks. He did the job he needed to do, using his size." -- Bowness on why Riley Tufte has been successful and why he's staying in the lineup
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.