Spezza game-time decision for Stars against Flyers

Dallas Stars center Jason Spezza, who has missed the last three games with a back injury, will be a game-time decision for tonight's tilt against the Philadelphia Flyers at American Airlines Center.
"If he's in the warm-ups tonight then you can assume he is going to play," Stars coach Ken Hitchcock said.

GAME DAY CENTRAL: [What to watch for as Stars try to snap skid vs. Flyers]
Spezza suffered the injury in the March 18 game at Winnipeg and Hitchcock said last week that Spezza would be evaluated in two weeks. But Spezza appears close to returning sooner than expected.
"We know where we are at in the season and it felt good today," Spezza said.
Spezza centered a line with Jason Dickinson and Remi Elie on his wings this morning, but Hitchcock said that line is still up in the air because of Spezza's status and some dinged up defenseman that could lead the Dallas coach to go with a lineup of 11 forwards and seven defensemen. Warm-ups will tell the tale of the plan for tonight's game.

Hitchcock said the top three lines are expected to be the same as last game, including a top line of Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, and Alexander Radulov.
The defense pairs were the same as the last game in this morning's skate. Kari Lehtonen was the first goaltender off the ice, so he is the expected starter in net. Julius Honka, Dillon Heatherington, Curtis McKenzie, and Gemel Smith all skated late and would appear to be the likely scratches.
The Stars (38-30-8) come into tonight's game on an eight-game losing streak (0-6-2) and with their playoff chances on life support. The Stars are six games out of a playoff spot with just six games remaining.
"You have no choice. We have to start by winning one game," Spezza said. "It's been a difficult stretch for us."
Tonight's game wraps up a three-game homestand for the Stars and is their next-to-last home game of the season.

Flyers Watch

Petr Mrazek is the expected starter in goal tonight for the Flyers. Mrazek is 13-12-5 with a 3.03 goals against average and .903 save percentage. The Flyers (38-25-13) come into tonight's game on a five-game points streak (3-0-2). They currently sit in the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference and have a five-point lead on the ninth-place spot which is held by Florida.

Tonight's Game

Who:Philadelphia Flyers at Dallas Stars
Where:American Airlines Center
When:7:30 p.m.
TV:Fox Sports Southwest Plus
Radio: The Ticket 1310 AM/96.7 FM

Stars Projected Lineup

Jamie Benn - Tyler Seguin - Alexander Radulov
Antoine Roussel - Radek Faksa - Tyler Pitlick
Mattias Janmark - Devin Shore - Brett Ritchie
Jason Dickinson - Jason Spezza - Remi Elie
Esa Lindell - John Klingberg
Dan Hamhuis - Greg Pateryn
Marc Methot - Stephen Johns
Kari Lehtonen
Mike McKenna
Scratched:Julius Honka, Curtis McKenzie, Gemel Smith, Dillon Heatherington
Injured: Ben Bishop (knee), Martin Hanzal (back)

Flyers Projected Lineup

Claude Giroux - Sean Couturier - Travis Konecny
Oskar Lindblom - Nolan Patrick - Jakub Voracek
Jordan Weal - Valtteri Filppula - Wayne Simmonds
Jori Lehtera - Scott Laughton - Matt Read
Ivan Provorov - Shayne Gostisbehere
Travis Sanheim - Andrew MacDonald
Brandon Manning - Radko Gudas
Petr Mrazek
Alex Lyon
Scratched:Dale Weise, Taylor Leier, Robert Hagg
Injured: Michael Raffl (upper body), Brian Elliott (lower body), Michal Neuvirth (lower body), Johnny Oduya (upper body)
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mark Stepneski is an independent writer whose posts on DallasStars.com reflect his own opinions and do not represent official statements from the Dallas Stars. You can follow him on Twitter @StarsInsideEdge.