Special night shaping up for the Robertson brothers in Toronto

Stars (32-22-3, 67 points) vs. Maple Leafs (37-17-5, 79 points)

TORONTO -- It'll be a special night for the Robertson family in Toronto.
Stars forward Jason Robertson will be playing his younger brother Nick for the first time in the NHL, and parents Hugh and Mercedes will be in attendance. It's a great night delivered by hard work and a little help from the hockey gods.
Nick has missed much of the season because of injuries and was a healthy scratch on Sunday. However, forward Auston Matthews was suspended for a high sticking incident, and that's opened the door for him to jump into the lineup.
"It's exciting," Nick said Tuesday morning. "I played against him in the OHL, but this obviously is a lot bigger."
While Jason added: "We'll definitely have a laugh or two on the ice, but it's all business, so it's a big game for both of us."

The Robertson family's been heading in this direction for years. Hugh helped lay the foundation by getting his sons into youth hockey leagues in the LA area and even building a synthetic rink in the backyard. He then moved his sons to Michigan to get them a higher level of competition, paving the way for each to play in the Ontario Hockey League.
Jason, 22, was then drafted in the second round (39th overall) by the Stars in 2017. Nick was drafted in the second round (53rd overall) in 2019 by the Maple Leafs.
Jason's become one of the hottest young forwards in the league with 30 goals this season, while Nick still is trying to break through. Both have been prolific scorers in the minors, and both are hoping to continue that level in the NHL.
"A lot of credit goes to my parents for giving us the resources, and then it just came down to working hard," Jason said.
Each brother said he's impressed by the hard work of his sibling. Asked about how Jason's become a point-a-game player in his career, Nick said he isn't surprised. "I know how good he can be," Nick said. "He's confident and he gets the looks and the opportunity he sees in himself."
Asked about Nick's recovery from a broken leg earlier in the season to be able to play in this game, Jason said his younger brother handles adversity well. "He's used to a lot of adversity and has always responded and come back even better," Jason said. "He broke his leg in October and it was tough for him, but I knew mentally he was going to respond. To see that develop as an older brother, it's definitely inspiring."
The two have played against one another about a dozen times in junior hockey, Jason said, and they also have played together on youth and men's league teams. However, to play in an NHL contest in Toronto will be something quite different.
Stars coach Rick Bowness said he expects some intensity.
"It obviously doesn't happen very often, and this is the first opportunity, so when the puck drops, there's no family, there's no friends," Bowness said. "You've got to go play and do what you can to help your team."

What to watch

The Stars have had a problem all season with their second line. While the top line of Roope Hintz with Joe Pavelski and Robertson has clicked since last season, the second trio hasn't found its way. The quartet of Tyler Seguin with Jamie Benn, Denis Gurianov and Alexander Radulov has rotated in and out with one skater as the odd man out at various times. Every time a player's been moved to the third or fourth line, his production has slipped, and he's had to deal with the fallout. That's currently been Radulov, who has seen his average time on ice slip from 18:33 in October to 10:58 in February.
However, Gurianov hasn't been on a roll with Benn and Seguin, so it appears Radulov will get moved back to the second line in Toronto.
"The reality is that Denis with Jamie and Seggy, it was too inconsistent," Bowness said. "They're not generating enough offense. It's a goal here or there. Regardless of the goals, they're not creating enough chances for."
Bowness said everything right now outside the top line is liquid. On Monday, the lines were Gurianov with Radek Faksa and Michael Raffl, while Luke Glendening centered Joel Kiviranta and Marián Studenič.
"Let's try Rads there again," Bowness said. "It didn't work early in the year, and I know that. I know it. Rads is skating better now, we'll give it another look. If it doesn't work, we'll flip it again."

Lineup update

Braden Holtby continues to nurse a lower-body injury and won't back up.
Jake Oettinger will start for the 11th time in the past 12 games. He's coming off a rough outing, allowing six goals on 28 shots against the Rangers Saturday.
"He'll bounce back," Bowness said. "I have 100 percent faith in Jake. He's been great for us all year, so he'll bounce back."
Here is a possible lineup:
Robertson-Hintz-Pavelski
Benn-Seguin-Radulov
Raffl-Faksa-Gurianov
Studenic-Glendening-Kiviranta
Suter-Hakanpaa
Lindell-Klingberg
Harley-Hanley
Oettinger
Scheel

Numbers

14

Seguin has 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in his past eight games against Toronto.

46

Matthews leads the NHL with 45 goals in 56 games but won't play Tuesday as part of a two-game suspension for a cross-check he had against Buffalo's Rasmus Dahlin.

29.3 percent

Toronto leads the NHL in power-play success at 29.3 percent. The Maple Leafs rank first in faceoff success (56.1 percent), third in scoring (3.62 goals per game), fifth in penalty kill success (84.2 percent) and sixth in shots on goal per game (34.6).

He said it

"It's huge for us. We've been good on the road lately, so we just have to keep playing there the way we've been doing. It's a good opportunity for us to get some points and climb in the standings." -- Hintz on the upcoming four-game road trip
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.