The injury to Roussel could put the Stars in a tough spot as far as the forwards for Friday's game. If Roussel can't play the Stars would be down to 12 healthy forwards, and one of those healthy forwards is Cody Eakin, who will be serving his third game of a four-game suspension for charging New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist.
So, with the roster at the maximum 23 players, the Stars would have to open up a roster spot to call up a forward from the AHL. That could mean possibly moving Roussel to injured reserve.
"It makes tomorrow a little dicey," Ruff said. "We have to make a decision because Cody takes up a roster spot. There's going to be a lot of decisions we have to make with Antoine getting evaluated this afternoon by our doctors again. That's what makes the decision tough because you really can't bring anybody in with the roster the way it is."
And forward Patrick Sharp, who is out with a concussion, isn't ready to come off injured reserve and play, so the Stars could go with a defenseman at forward. Defenseman Jamie Oleksiak skated as a forward in Thursday's practice and Ruff said it could be an option. The Stars used defenseman Patrik Nemeth at forward earlier this season.
"The reason we dressed Jamie up in a forward [jersey] color today was to use him some at forward," Ruff said. "We've had him at forward in practice a few times. LA's a big, strong team and we've seen some of his dangling, so it could be important to us."
Stars look to head into break on a positive
Friday's game against the Los Angeles Kings will be the Stars' last before the NHL's holiday break and will wrap up a five-game homestand. The Stars are 2-1-1 in the first four games and would like to head into the break and end this stretch of home games with two points.
"It's huge. We want to go into the break with a win," said Stars captain Jamie Benn. "We're still working. We're still working hard to keep moving up in the standings. It's just another two points that we can get."
It's been an up and down season for the Stars, who are 13-14-7 on the season. They've played well over the past nine games, but still have just a 4-4-1 record to show for that stretch and are still on the outside looking in at a playoff spot.
"For us right now, we just need two points," said Stars defenseman John Klingberg. "We need as many points as we can get all the time. It's going to be a huge game for us."
Thursday's Practice Lineup
Antoine Roussel (undisclosed) and Patrick Eaves (maintenance) did not practice Thursday. Here's how the Stars lined up.
Jamie Benn - Jason Spezza - Brett Ritchie
Lauri Korpikoski - Tyler Seguin - Jiri Hudler
Curtis McKenzie - Radek Faksa - Adam Cracknell
Jamie Oleksiak - Devin Shore - Patrick Sharp/Cody Eakin
Esa Lindell - John Klingberg
Dan Hamhuis - Stephen Johns/Patrik Nemeth
Johnny Oduya - Jordie Benn
Antti Niemi
Kari Lehtonen
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 Mark on Twitter @StarsInsideEdge.
