Methot out, Heatherington in for Stars against Capitals

The Dallas Stars will have a different look on defense tonight when they take on the defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena.
Marc Methot is out with a lower-body injury and Dillon Heatherington, who was called up Friday from the Texas Stars of the AHL, will draw into the lineup.
Methot will sit out for the fourth time in the past eight games because of the injury.
"It's just maintenance," Stars coach Jim Montgomery said. "Some days it feels great with his lower-body injury and some days he can't go."

With the changes on defense, the expected pairs are Esa Lindell-John Klingberg, Miro Heiskanen-Roman Polak, and Heatherington-Julius Honka.
"With Meth out and Heatherington in, it gives us the ability to go left-right and move Roman into a slot as a veteran presence with Miro on the second pairing," said Montgomery.
The 23-year-old Heatherington, who played six games with Dallas last season, has four points (one goal, three assists) and a plus-two rating in 10 games in the AHL this season.
"I am expecting a very similar player to Meth," said Montgomery. "We expect him to be physical, keep it simple and a lot of talk on rush defense."

Heatherington appeared to have been bumped down the depth chart during training camp by Gavin Bayreuther, but Bayreuther is out with an injury right now and Heatherington got the call with the Stars banged up on defense with Methot day to day with his injury, Connor Carrick (foot) still out and Stephen Johns (post-traumatic headaches) not ready to play yet.
"I feel great coming in," Heatherington said. "I am excited to be here. It's a boost of energy. It's tough getting sent down, and you never know when you are going to get the call back up. I am going to take advantage of the opportunity that is in front of me. Overall, I am real excited."
The Stars are expected to go with the same group of forwards and same line combinations as last game. Alexander Radulov will not play for the seventh time in the past eight games due to a lower-body injury. He has returned to Dallas and is out for the rest of the road trip.
"Just to get better PT treatment with more bells and whistles," said Montgomery. "We're not sure if it is muscular or if it is proper body alignment with joints."
Justin Dowling is the expected healthy scratch up front.
Ben Bishop will get the start in goal.
The Stars (7-5-0) will come into tonight's after consecutive wins in Montreal and Toronto and will be looking to string together three straight wins for the first time this season.
"I think the last game was a big turning point for us [in the way we want to play]," Montgomery said. "Now, it's the consistency of when we've won two in a row that third game has never been as good as the previous one. So that's the challenge in front of us whether we are on the road or at home, I don't think it makes a difference."

Johns feeling 'best he has felt'

Montgomery said Carrick, who was placed on injured reserve Friday with a foot injury, could be back in skates in the next day or two.
"It's just swelling in the foot. It's soreness," Montgomery said. "It might be a bone. We know the X-rays were negative, it's just really sore right now at the bridge of his foot."
As for Johns, who is on the trip but hasn't played this season due to post-traumatic headaches, Montgomery said: "Johns said he felt the best he has felt today. I can't tell you what that means."

Opposition watch: Washington Capitals

The Capitals (5-4-2) are coming off a 6-4 loss at Montreal on Thursday. Washington led 4-3 going into the third period, but the Canadiens scored three times in the final 3:04 of the game to hand the Capitals their third loss in the past five games.
Braden Holtby is the expected starter in goal for Washington.

Stat pack

• This is the first of two meetings between the Stars and Capitals this season.
• The Stars were 0-1-1 vs. the Capitals last season.
• The Stars are 4-1-0 in their past five games overall.
• The Capitals are 2-2-1 in their past five games.
• The Stars have allowed two goals or fewer in four of their past five games.
• The Capitals have scored four goals or more in four of their past six games.
• The Capitals rank first in the NHL on the power play at 36.1 percent and are 10-for-20 (50.0 percent) at home.
• The Stars rank sixth in the league on the penalty kill at 86.5 percent and are 18-for-20 (90.0 percent) on the road.
• Stars forward Devin Shore has eight points (two goals, six assists) in the past six games.
• Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin has scored six goals in the past six games.

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Tonight's game

Who:Dallas Stars at Washington Capitals
Where: Capital One Arena
When: 6 p.m.
TV:Fox Sports Southwest
Radio:The Ticket 1310-AM/96.7-FM

Stars projected lineup

Devin Shore - Tyler Seguin - Mattias Janmark
Jamie Benn - Jason Spezza - Valeri Nichushkin
Blake Comeau - Radek Faksa - Tyler Pitlick
Gemel Smith - Jason Dickinson - Brett Ritchie
Esa Lindell - John Klingberg
Miro Heiskanen - Roman Polak
Dillon Heatherington - Julius Honka
Ben Bishop
Anton Khudobin
Scratched: Justin DowlingInjured:Alexander Radulov (lower body), Marc Methot (lower body), Connor Carrick (foot), Stephen Johns (post-traumatic headaches), Martin Hanzal (back)

Capitals projected lineup

Alex Ovechkin - Evgeny Kuznetsov - Jakub Vrana
Andre Burakovsky - Nicklas Backstrom - T.J. Oshie
Dmitrij Jaskin - Lars Eller - Brett Connolly
Chandler Stephenson - Nic Dowd - Devante Smith-Pelly
Dmitry Orlov - Matt Niskanen
Michal Kempny - John Carlson
Christian Djoos - Madison Bowey
Braden Holtby
Pheonix Copley
Scratched:Nathan Walker, Aaron NessInjured: Brooks Orpik (lower body), Travis Boyd (leg)Suspended:Tom Wilson
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.