Preview: Stars open homestand with divisional test vs. Blues

St. Louis Blues at Dallas Stars

About the Stars

The Stars (20-15-3) lost their first game out of the NHL's Christmas break with a 4-2 loss at Minnesota on Wednesday. The loss snapped a four-game points streak for the Stars and was just their second regulation loss in the last eight games (4-2-2).
"It was our poorest effort by a mile," said Stars coach Ken Hitchcock. "We were light everywhere. Light on the puck, light around our net, light around their net. This looked like the way we played a month-and-a-half ago."
Friday's game kicks off a stretch of six straight games at home for the Stars, but the focus is on the Blues, a Central Division rival and a team that the Stars are 0-2-0 against this season.
"You've got to be able to beat the teams in your division if you expect to make the playoffs. You can't get a playoff spot winning outside your division," Hitchcock said. "We moved on quickly from [Wednesday] and [on Friday] we get a team that has handled us pretty well the first two games, and we want to see if we've gotten better. We think we have, but we've got to prove it now against these next teams."
Martin Hanzal (maintenance) did not practice Thursday but is expected to play Friday. Defenseman Marc Methot (knee) practiced but is not expected to play.
Ben Bishop will start in goal Friday.
Injuries: Marc Methot (knee) is out.

About the Blues

The Blues (23-14-2) came out of the break with a 2-1 loss to Nashville in St. Louis on Wednesday. The loss was the fourth in the past five games for the Blues (1-4-0) and the sixth in the past eight (2-6-0). The Blues have scored just 10 goals in their last eight games.
"We have to be better. There are no excuses. It starts with me," Blues coach Mike Yeo said. "We have to make sure we have the right mindset heading into every game. It's not something where we just flip the switch. We have to build back the mentality that we are a hard, attacking, offensive team with the mindset of doing things a certain way."
Defenseman Jay Bouwmeester, who has missed the last eight games with a lower-body injury, practiced Thursday and will travel with the team to Dallas but is doubtful to play.
The Blues play at Dallas on Friday and then return to St. Louis for a three-game homestand.
Injuries:F Jaden Schwartz (ankle), D Jay Bouwmeester (lower body), F Sammy Blais (lower body), and F Zach Sanford (shoulder) are on injured reserve.

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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 Mark on Twitter at @StarsInsideEdge.