Stars get back at it tonight vs. Coyotes

The Dallas Stars return to action tonight after their five-day bye week, taking on the Arizona Coyotes at American Airlines Center. The Stars will try to avoid a key problem of other teams coming out of the long break, which has been losing that first game. Of the 20 teams that have had their bye weeks, 16 have lost their first game out of the break (4-12-4).
Coach Lindy Ruff said the Stars will look to do a few key things as they get back to playing after the extended time off.
"Try to keep the shifts really short, not get tired people caught on the ice," Ruff said. "The focus will be to stay away from the special teams game, don't take needless penalties and put yourself in harm's way."
The Stars (23-27-10) lost ground in the standings during their time off, going from six points out of a playoff spot on Saturday to ten points out heading into tonight's game.
"Take it one game at a time," said Stars captain Jamie Benn. "We're have four straight games at home. We got to win every game pretty much. It's do-or-die for this team."
The Stars worked on special teams this morning, and Ruff juggled his power play units. He moved defenseman Esa Lindell to the top unit with Benn, Tyler Seguin, Patrick Eaves and Patrick Sharp. John Klingberg was on the second unit with Jason Spezza, Devin Shore, Brett Ritchie and Dan Hamhuis.

"We're going to try to have two good units and split that time up, make the units provide more energy in a shorter period of time," Ruff said. "Short-term, we are going to give that a try."
Kari Lehtonen was the first goaltender off the ice this morning, so it appears he will get the start in goal tonight. He stopped 34 of 37 shots in the 4-3 overtime win over Tampa Bay last Saturday.
Warm-ups will tell the tale on scratches for tonight's game. Defenseman Johnny Oduya (ankle) will not play but remains a possibility for Sunday's game against Boston. Defenseman Stephen Johns, who is coming off a bout with the flu, is available to return tonight.
There was some positive news on forward Adam Cracknell, who suffered a lower-body injury in last Saturday's game against Tampa Bay. Originally, the thought was he could be out 3-6 weeks, but now it is looking as though he won't be out that long.
"He's doing better, better than we thought he was going to be," Ruff said. "The update is possibly only 2-3 weeks."
Coyotes Watch
The Coyotes (21-31-7) played last night in Chicago, losing 6-3 to the Blackhawks. Louis Domingue, who backed up Mike Smith last night, will get the start in goal tonight against the Stars. Domingue, who just returned from a three-game absence due to injury, is 5-13-1 with a 3.29 goals-against average and .895 save percentage. The Coyotes have been playing well lately, posting an 8-5-1 record in their past 14 games.
Tonight's Game
Who: Arizona Coyotes at Dallas Stars
Where: American Airlines Center
When: 7:30 p.m.
TV: Fox Sports Southwest Plus
Radio: The Ticket 1310 AM/96.7 FM
Stars Projected Lineup
Jamie Benn - Cody Eakin - Patrick Eaves
Antoine Roussel - Tyler Seguin - Patrick Sharp
Curtis McKenzie - Radek Faksa - Brett Ritchie
Lauri Korpikoski - Devin Shore - Jason Spezza
Esa Lindell - John Klingberg
Dan Hamhuis - Jordie Benn
Patrik Nemeth - Jamie Oleksiak
Kari Lehtonen
Antti Niemi
Scratched: Stephen Johns, Jiri Hudler
Injured: Johnny Oduya (ankle), Adam Cracknell (lower body), Ales Hemsky (hip), Mattias Janmark (knee)
Coyotes Projected Lineup
Tobias Rieder - Martin Hanzal - Radim Vrbata
Brendan Perlini - Christian Dvorak - Shane Doan
Max Domi - Alexander Burmistrov - Ryan White
Jamie McGinn - Jordan Martinook - Josh Jooris
Oliver Ekman-Larsson - Luke Schenn
Alex Goligoski - Anthony DeAngelo
Jakob Chychrun - Connor Murphy
Louis Domingue
Mike Smith
Scratched: Peter Holland, Kevin Connauton
Injured: Lawson Crouse (lower body), Brad Richardson (leg)
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.