"The games where I have gone 11 forwards and seven (defensemen), I've really liked it because there are players, when you have four lines set, you can't give enough ice time to that are having good nights," Montgomery said.
"We've had nights where Val (Nichushkin) has had great nights. It doesn't matter who, (Tyler) Pitlick, (Mattias) Janmark, sometimes those guys are on and you want to play them over 16 or more towards 18 minutes because it helps our team. That allows us to do that and allows (assistant coach Rick Bowness) the luxury of putting players in minutes where they are best suited as defensemen."
Montgomery also raised the possibility that there could be the call-up of a forward Texas, which Dallas did late in the afternoon by
bringing up veteran right wing Erik Condra
. The 32-year-old Condra leads Texas in scoring with 35 points (14 goals, 21 assists) in 32 games and has played 366 NHL games in his career with Ottawa and Tampa Bay, recording 98 points (39 goals, 59 assists).
So, Friday's morning skate will tell the tale of how Montgomery will put together his lineup when the Stars face the Capitals.
The Stars will come into Friday's game on a 3-0-1 run since the NHL emerged from the holiday break. The Stars are at the midpoint of the season with a 21-16-4 record and were sitting in third place in the Western Conference through Wednesday's games.
The Stars have fared well on their current homestand, scoring 12 goals and averaging 43 shots on goal per game. It's a welcomed trend for Montgomery and the Stars.
"I expected it to happen post-Thanksgiving, to be honest. It's just taken a month longer than I expected," Montgomery said. "You are starting to see the consistency of how we want to play in every zone, and we are becoming a much better hockey team because of it."
