Montgomery aims to keep Stars fresh with four games in six nights

The Dallas Stars were back on the ice at Comerica Center in Frisco on Monday after taking Sunday off. They head out on the road this week for two games, playing at Buffalo on Tuesday and Minnesota on Thursday before returning home to take on Vegas Friday and Vancouver Sunday.
That will be four games in six days for the Stars, including a back-to-back Thursday and Friday. Stars coach Jim Montgomery has somewhat of an idea of how he'll split up the goaltending between Ben Bishop and Anton Khudobin.

GAME DAY GUIDE: [How to watch, listen and live stream the Stars' matchup with Buffalo on Tuesday night]
"We know that Bish is going to go Tuesday night (in Buffalo)," Montgomery said. "Definitely we'll alternate them on the back-to-back with Minnesota and Vegas but which way we are not sure yet."
The Stars are coming off a 2-1 loss to Chicago on Saturday that snapped their winning streak at four games, a loss in which Montgomery noted that the team didn't have "tons of energy."
With the four games coming up in six nights, Montgomery said he could be looking to rotate players in and out of the lineup to keep the energy levels up.

"Going back to the four in six it is really important that we keep people fresh," Montgomery said. "We saw Saturday that I would say that everyone except (Andrew) Cogliano and (Alexander) Radulov looked tired. So it is important that we can move bodies in and out."
Both the forward lines and defense pairs had different looks in Monday's practice.
The top line of a Roope Hintz, Tyler Seguin, and Alexander Radulov stayed intact, but Joel L'Esperance was back at center with Jamie Benn and Jason Spezza on his wings. Radek Faksa was centering Mattias Janmark and Blake Comeau. Jason Dickinson had Andrew Cogliano on his left wing and Valeri Nichushkin and Brett Ritchie rotating in on the right side.
On defense, Esa Lindell and John Klingberg were back together on the top pair, and Miro Heiskanen and Roman Polak skated as the second pair. Jamie Oleksiak was paired with Ben Lovejoy while Taylor Fedun skated with Julius Honka.
Montgomery didn't discuss any lineup changes for Tuesday's game so the morning skate in Buffalo likely will tell the tale on what the Stars roll out against the Sabres.

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Bishop named NHL's Second Star of the Week

Bishop was named the NHL's Second Star of the Week
after stopping all 59 shots he faced in back-to-back shutouts over the New York Rangers and Colorado Avalanche. Bishop stopped 28 shots in a 1-0 win over the Rangers last Tuesday and then 31 shots in a 4-0 win over Colorado on Thursday.
"It's nice. The guys in front of me are a big part of it," Bishop said of the honor. "It's nice, but I am getting ready for Buffalo tomorrow, so that is my main focus."
Bishop is 22-14-2 this season, ranking second in the league in both goals against average (2.13) and save percentage (.930) while sharing third in the NHL in shutouts (five).

Playoff tracker

The Stars
sit in the first wild-card spot heading into Monday night's games
. Some of the teams they are battling in the playoff race are in action Monday. Here's a look.

Stars practice lineup

Here's how the Stars lined up in practice Monday:
Roope Hintz - Tyler Seguin - Alexander Radulov
Jamie Benn - Joel L'Esperance - Jason Spezza
Mattias Janmark - Radek Faksa - Blake Comeau
Andrew Cogliano - Jason Dickinson - Valeri Nichushkin/Brett Ritchie
Esa Lindell - John Klingberg
Miro Heiskanen - Roman Polak
Jamie Oleksiak - Ben Lovejoy
Taylor Fedun - Julius Honka
Ben Bishop
Anton Khudobin
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.