Home sweet home: Stars look to turn fortunes around at AAC

McKINNEY, Texas --After what center Tyler Seguin called the "road trip from hell," the Dallas Stars are back home where they will play their next three games and four of the next five.
It will be a chance for the Stars to make up the ground they lost in the playoff race while picking up just two points during the six-game trip that saw them go 0-4-2.

"It's nice to be home," Stars forward Alexander Radulov said after Thursday's practice in McKinney. "We didn't get the results on the road, but we are still in the race. We are looking forward to a huge one tomorrow. We still have a chance, and we believe in our group. Let's go. That's it."
The Stars open the stretch of home games on Friday against Boston at American Airlines Center. Not a true must-win, but perhaps as close as you can get for the Stars who have slipped to 10th place in the Western Conference and three points out of a playoff spot with the six straight losses.
Stars coach Ken Hitchcock saw some positives on the road trip, especially in the last four games. But none of the positives translated to wins, and with just eight games left in the regular season, the Stars simply need results.

"We had such great energy in the last four games and such great efforts throughout the hockey club, you feel like throughout the process that it is going to turn your way. What changes is the time of year," Hitchcock said. "If we were playing like this and it was the middle of the season we'd be very happy knowing that the wheel is going to turn because it does. You've got to play your way into wins. But now, with the shortness of what is left in the season it kind of magnifies everything.
"You don't want to take away the energy, enthusiasm and hard play that is going on right now. That has to be rewarded, but, at the end of the day, we know we need wins."
The Stars play Boston (Friday), Vancouver (Sunday), and Philadelphia (Tuesday) on this homestand and then have a home-and-home with Minnesota before closing out the season with road games against San Jose, Anaheim, and Los Angeles. But for now, the focus is on the stretch of home games starting with Friday's tilt against Boston.
"We're in a tough spot, and those games at home are going to be huge. We need those points," Radulov said.
"We're still in the battle, and there's still a lot of hockey left."

Ritchie set to return, Methot a maybe, Spezza out two weeks

Center Jason Spezza, who missed Tuesday's game in Washington with a back injury, is out at least two weeks.
"We'll evaluate in two weeks," said Stars coach Ken Hitchcock, who added that Spezza suffered the injury in Sunday's game at Winnipeg.
Defenseman Marc Methot, who has missed four games with a hand injury, went through a full practiced Thursday. He could play Friday.
"We'll evaluate with the hand and see if he is able to play. If not, we'd probably look at bringing (Dillon) Heatherington in," Hitchcock said.
Right wing Brett Ritchie is expected to play Friday after missing Tuesday's game in Washington due to illness. Ritchie practiced Thursday in McKinney.

Notes

This story was not subject to approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mark Stepneski is an independent writer whose posts on DallasStars.com reflect his own opinions and do not represent official statements from the Dallas Stars. You can follow him on Twitter @StarsInsideEdge.