Nichushkin, Pitlick out for Stars with upper-body injuries

Forwards Tyler Pitlick and Valeri Nichushkin did not practice Friday at American Airlines Center, and both will be out tomorrow when the Dallas Stars take on the Winnipeg Jets at American Airlines Center.
Pitlick did play in the third period of Thursday night's game against Los Angeles after taking a big hit from Kings forward Dustin Brown late in the second period and suffering an upper-body injury.
"I don't know who hit him, but it was the big hit he took behind the net," Stars coach Jim Montgomery said.

Nichushkin did not play in Thursday's game due to an upper-body injury. He missed Wednesday's practice with the issue as well.
Those two injuries leave the Stars with just 11 healthy forwards for Saturday's game against the Jets. Forward Denis Gurianov
was recalled from the Texas Stars of the AHL
Friday afternoon. This is the third recall for Gurianov, who has three points (one goal, two assists) in 11 games with Dallas this season.
Gurianov has 31 points (11 goals, 20 assists) in 29 games with Texas this season, ranking fourth on the team in points and third in points per game (1.07).

After Friday's practice, Montgomery said he was undecided if he would go with 12 forwards and six defensemen or 11 forwards and seven defensemen in Saturday's game. He's used the 11-7 configuration at times this season and had to go with 11 forwards in the third period of Thursday's game after Pitlick went out with injury.
"I like it. More forwards get more minutes, they get into the game quicker," Montgomery said of playing eleven forwards. "But you've also got to look at who your opponent is, and you've got to do your matchups, so a lot of that factors into your final decision."
The Stars (23-21-4) will face a stiff test in the Jets Saturday as they try to snap their four-game losing streak. Winnipeg has won four straight, their last two wins coming over Nashville, 4-1, and Vegas, 5-1. The Stars have split their first two games with Winnipeg, both teams winning by 5-1 scores at home.
"(Winnipeg is) a team that is playing exceptionally well right now," Montgomery said. "Just had two big wins. We played well against them last time. Here at home, we had a real good game. In Winnipeg, we had a good first two periods, we were right there, they got the power play goal, we didn't, and that was probably the difference in the game."
Saturday's game will take the Stars into their bye week and the All-Star break.
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.