GAME DAY CENTRAL: [Schwartz talks Stars-Blues on Counterattack | What to watch for tonight]
"It's a lot different," said Stars coach Ken Hitchcock. "Before you'd have one hockey practice and you couldn't pack it all in, and then you'd go out and play, and every time it's been kind of loose, which is natural. We themed every day, and we had a couple of hard practices. We'll see. The big challenge when you are on a break is getting up to speed with a team that has played quite a bit. They played a more recent game than we did, in a tough building and in a hard game. We're going to have to get up to that emotional level."
Getting up to speed will be key tonight since their first game out of this break is against a Central Division rival and a team they are chasing in the standings in the St. Louis Blues. The Stars (33-20-4) are two points behind the Blues (34-21-4) with two games in hand, and if the Stars win in regulation they will move past St. Louis into third place in the Central.
"Not just this game but every game from here on out is going to be an important game," said Stars goaltender Ben Bishop. "It's an important game and a team we are chasing, but I don't think this game is any more important than the next 15 after that. We've just got to come prepared, play our game and stick to the game plan."
The Stars will get defenseman Marc Methot back tonight. The veteran defenseman has missed 41 of the last 42 games due to a knee injury.
