Stars Add Depth with Waiver Claim on Dustin Jeffrey

Jeffrey, who is listed at 6-1, 205 pounds, is a left shot and plays both center and wing. The versatile, two-way forward has played ten games with the Penguins this season, registering one assist. The 25-year-old Jeffrey, a sixth-round pick of Pittsburgh in 2007, has played 100 NHL games, registering 28 points (15 goals, 13 assists).

“Dustin is a player our scouts have liked over the last couple years,” said Stars GM Jim Nill. “He’s a young player that we think has some room to develop even more. We just think he has a chance to add some depth to our organization. You can never have enough depth.”

To make room on the roster for Jeffrey, the Stars sent defenseman Aaron Rome to the Texas Stars of the AHL. That move leaves the Stars with six defensemen on the roster for now. Kevin Connauton is still with the Texas Stars on a conditioning assignment.

“When we get to Dallas on Monday, we’ll sit down, get our roster set again and go from there,” Nill said.

Whitney update

Stars forward Ray Whitney will miss tonight’s game against Vancouver. It will be the third straight game missed for Whitney, who is on injured reserve with a groin injury.

“He’s getting close, but with groin injuries you never know,” Nill said. “He’s not playing tonight and we don’t play again until Thursday (against the Rangers in Dallas), so we’ll kind of monitor it and see where he is at.”

Stars vs. Canucks

The Dallas Stars will look to make it six straight wins on the road when they take on the Vancouver Canucks tonight at Rogers Arena.

The Stars and Canucks have been heading in different directions recently. The Stars have been on a nice roll since goaltender Kari Lehtonen returned from a lower body injury, picking up points in nine of eleven games (7-2-2).

The Stars have won five of their last six games, including the first two games of this current three-game road trip. They blew away Calgary, 7-3, Thursday night behind big nights from Jamie Benn (one goal, five assists) and Tyler Seguin (four goals, one assist).

"Benn and Seguin are having great years," Canucks forward Henrik Sedin told the team’s official site. "Playing them in the past, they're really good players. We've got to have a good game."

"Like any other superstar you want to limit their time and space," said Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo. "They're going to get their chances, that goes without saying, but if we've got a guy on them it limits the time they have to make plays and take accurate shots."

The Canucks, on the other hand have struggled recently, losing three straight (0-2-1) and five of their last seven (2-3-2). They’ve scored just three goals over the last three games and have scored two goals or fewer in five of the last seven games. They’ve been getting their chances, and they have some weapons, including the Sedin twins.

“You really have to be sharp with your game. They make plays you can’t anticipate a lot of times,” said Stars coach Lindy Ruff. “Those two guys know where each other are going to be without even looking. That’s a dangerous combination. We know they have some good speed, they have some good size. I like their defense. This is going to be a good challenge for us.”

Kari Lehtonen will be in goal for the Stars and Roberto Luongo will man the net for the Canucks.

Stars to see Gulutzan Sunday

The Stars will be facing off against former head coach Glen Gulutzan on Sunday. Gulutzan is now an assistant coach in Vancouver under John Tortorella.

Gulutzan, who was the head coach of the Stars for two years, was fired a few weeks after the end of last season.

Tortorella was asked if the Canucks were picking Gulutzan’s brain about the Stars.

“No. We are worried about our team,” Tortorella said. “We’re not worried about Dallas. We are just worried about our team.”

Sunday’s game
Who: Dallas Stars at Vancouver Canucks
Where: Rogers Arena, Vancouver
When: 7 p.m.
TV: Fox Sports Southwest
Radio: The Ticket 1310 AM/96.7 FM

Stars projected lineup

Jamie Benn – Tyler Seguin – Valeri Nichushkin
Erik Cole – Cody Eakin – Alex Chiasson
Shawn Horcoff – Vernon Fiddler – Rich Peverley
Antoine Roussel – Travis Morin – Ryan Garbutt

Brenden Dillon – Stephane Robidas
Alex Goligoski – Trevor Daley
Jordie Benn – Sergei Gonchar

Kari Lehtonen (starter)
Dan Ellis

Canucks projected lineup

Daniel Sedin – Henrik Sedin – Alexandre Burrows
Chris Higgins – Ryan Kesler – Jannik Hansen
David Booth – Mike Santorelli – Zack Kassian
Tom Sestito – Brad Richardson – Jeremy Welsh

Alex Edler – Jason Garrison
Ryan Stanton – Kevin Bieksa
Dan Hamhuis – Christopher Tanev

Roberto Luongo (starter)
Eddie Lack

This story was not subject to the 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.