'We can end that high': Stars relish chance to cool off red-hot Blues

The Dallas Stars will look to snap a three-game losing streak when they take on the hottest team in the NHL tonight at American Airlines Center (7:30 p.m. CT; FS-SW; KTCK). The St. Louis Blues roll into town riding a franchise-record 11-game winning streak.
The Blues, who are 15-2-1 in their last 18 games, have vaulted past the Stars into third place in the Central Division and have a six-point lead over Dallas heading into tonight's contest.
The Stars are relishing the challenge of tonight's game.

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"The excitement to end the streak," said Stars coach Jim Montgomery. "They are somebody we are battling for third place. We want to catch them. They are on a high. We can end that high, and we can also give ourselves some momentum and propel us."
The Stars will get a couple of injured players back for tonight's game. Goaltender Ben Bishop will back up Anton Khudobin after missing the last six games with an upper-body injury. Montgomery said he'd like to get Bishop a full practice before he starts a game.
Tonight will be the seventh straight start for Khudobin.

Forward Blake Comeau returns tonight after missing the past three games with an upper-body injury.
'I feel pretty good," Comeau said. "It sucks being out this time of year. The standings are tight, and everyone is jockeying for playoff position, so I am excited to get back in."
Comeau will skate on a line with Jamie Benn and Radek Faksa. Tyler Seguin will center Roope Hintz and Alexander Radulov for the fourth time in the last five games. The line of Mattias Janmark, Jason Dickinson, and Jason Spezza from Tuesday's game will stay intact. And Andrew Cogliano will move to a line with Joel L'Esperance and Brett Ritchie.
Valeri Nichushkin is the scratch at forward.
Defenseman John Klingberg did not skate this morning, but he is in tonight. The defense pairs remain unchanged: Esa Lindell-Klingberg; Miro Heiskanen-Roman Polak; Jamie Oleksiak-Taylor Fedun. Connor Carrick and Julius Honka will be the scratches on the blue line.
The Stars (29-25-5) come into tonight's game in the first wild-card spot in the West. They hold a two-point lead over both Colorado, which holds the second wild-card spot, and Chicago, which is in ninth place in the conference.

Opposition watch: St. Louis Blues

The Blues (32-22-5) won their 11th straight game with a 3-2 win in overtime against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday in St. Louis.
Ryan O'Reilly scored in overtime for the Blues, who squandered a 2-0 lead in the third period. Jordan Binnington stopped 31 shots for his ninth straight win, tied for the fifth-most by a rookie goaltender in NHL history. Binnington, who is the expected starter tonight, is 13-1-1 with the Blues with a 1.60 goals against average and .937 save percentage.
Blues forward Brayden Schenn is out tonight with an upper-body injury.

Fast facts

Tonight's game

Who:St. Louis Blues at Dallas Stars
Where:American Airlines Center
When: 7:30 p.m.
TV:Fox Sports Southwest
Radio:The Ticket 1310-AM/96.7-FM

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Stars projected lineup

Jamie Benn - Radek Faksa - Blake Comeau
Roope Hintz - Tyler Seguin - Alexander Radulov
Mattias Janmark - Jason Dickinson - Jason Spezza
Andrew Cogliano - Joel L'Esperance - Brett Ritchie
Esa Lindell - John Klingberg
Miro Heiskanen - Roman Polak
Jamie Oleksiak - Taylor Fedun
Anton Khudobin
Ben Bishop
Scratched:Connor Carrick, Julius Honka, Valeri Nichushkin
Injured:Tyler Pitlick (wrist surgery), Martin Hanzal (back), Stephen Johns (post-traumatic headaches), Marc Methot (knee surgery)

Blues projected lineup

Jaden Schwartz - Ryan O'Reilly - Vladimir Tarasenko
Robert Thomas - Tyler Bozak - Alexander Steen
Zach Sanford - Oskar Sundqvist - Pat Maroon
Mackenzie MacEachern - Ivan Barbashev - Robby Fabbri
Joel Edmundson - Alex Pietrangelo
Jay Bouwmeester - Colton Parayko
Vince Dunn - Robert Bortuzzo
Jordan Binnington
Jake Allen
Scratched: Chris Butler
Injured:Brayden Schenn (upper body), David Perron (upper body), Carl Gunnarsson (upper body)
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.