Stars look to take advantage of lengthy home stretch

After four games on the road, the Dallas Stars are back home for a key stretch of games at American Airlines Center. The Stars will play ten of their next 13 games at the AAC, starting with tonight's tilt with the Calgary Flames.
The Stars, who are 10-10-6 and two points out of a playoff spot, are hoping to take advantage of the home games and make a move in the standings.
"Our overall record isn't great, but playing at home is going to have its advantages," said Stars forward Adam Cracknell. "This is where we can separate ourselves from other teams. We have to take advantage of it. We can't let it slip away."
The Stars have been through some rough scheduling, playing 18 games - eleven of them on the road - in a 33-day stretch with a lot of travel. Now, they hope the schedule will play in their favor.
"We'll start with one game at a time, but it's an opportunity to get some practices in, play some games at home and hopefully get on a roll," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said.
The Stars saw some progress during the road trip. They played well in Detroit and Pittsburgh but didn't get results. They finally saw things come together in Colorado Saturday, defeating the Avalanche, 3-0, and they hope to build off that win.
"The last three games we deserved more points than we got," Ruff said. "We had a little bit of trouble getting the puck in the net, especially in Detroit. We had plenty of opportunities to at least get a point out of that game. … The last three minutes against Pittsburgh were disappointing. I thought the whole game in Colorado, we stayed with it. We played a solid game. It was three periods of good hockey, and we were patient when we needed to be patient. We'd like to build off that."

The Stars are not expected to make any lineup changes for tonight's game against Calgary. Kari Lehtonen was the first goaltender off the ice, so he is expected to get the start in goal. He is coming off a 23-save shutout in Saturday's 3-0 win over Colorado.
The Stars held an optional skate this morning, so there were no line rushes or defense pairs, but it does appear that they will go with the same six defensemen as Saturday's game. The expected pairs are Esa Lindell - John Klingberg, Dan Hamhuis - Julius Honka and Jordie Benn - Stephen Johns. Jamie Oleksiak and Patrik Nemeth both skated late and are expected to be the healthy scratches on defense.
As for the forward lines, warm-ups will reveal what Ruff is thinking there, but it should be the same 12 forwards as Saturday's game in Denver.
Notes: Oduya skates, getting closer; Dickinson recalled
\Defenseman Johnny Oduya will miss his eighth straight game with a lower-body injury tonight, but he is making progress. He skated with the team this morning.
"Johnny had a good skate yesterday before the team and good skate with the team today. He indicated he is getting close," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. "I think as soon as we can get him in a couple good practices, he'll be ready to go."
\Jiri Hudler (illness) skated with the team as well this morning. Hudler, who will miss his 18th straight game, went through his first full practice with the team on Monday.
*The Stars recalled forward Jason Dickinson from the Texas Stars Tuesday. Dickinson will give the Stars an extra forward for tonight's game. He has 10 points (4 goals, 6 assists) in 13 games with Texas this season.
Flames Watch
The Flames come into tonight's game on a good run. They are 5-1-1 in their past seven games, including an 8-3 win over Anaheim in Calgary on Sunday. Chad Johnson is expected to get the start in goal tonight. He's 10-4-1 this season with a 2.11 goals-against average and .928 save percentage.
The Flames aren't looking to engage the Stars in a track meet tonight.
"You can't open it up against Dallas," said Flames coach Glen Gulutzan. "They have too many weapons. I believe they have more than we do, so we need to play a good 200-foot game against them."
Gulutzan, who was the Stars head coach from 2011-13, is in his first season as head coach of the Flames. Former Dallas Stars Alex Chiasson and Jyrki Jokipakka will be in the lineup for the Flames tonight.
Tonight's Game
Who: Dallas Stars at Calgary Flames
When: 7:30 p.m.
Where: American Airlines Center
TV: Fox Sports Southwest
Radio: The Ticket 1310 AM/96.7 FM
Stars Projected Lineup
Jamie Benn - Tyler Seguin - Patrick Eaves
Antoine Roussel - Radek Faksa - Jason Spezza
Lauri Korpikoski - Cody Eakin - Brett Ritchie
Curtis McKenzie - Devin Shore - Adam Cracknell
Esa Lindell - John Klingberg
Dan Hamhuis - Julius Honka
Jordie Benn - Stephen Johns
Kari Lehtonen
Antti Niemi
Scratched: Jamie Oleksiak, Patrik Nemeth, Jason Dickinson
Injured: Johnny Oduya (lower body), Jiri Hudler (illness), Patrick Shark (concussion-like symptoms), Mattias Janmark (knee), Ales Hemsky (hip)
Flames Projected Lineup
Johnny Gaudreau - Sam Bennett - Alex Chiasson
Kris Versteeg - Sean Monahan - Troy Brouwer
Matthew Tkachuk - Mikael Backlund - Michael Frolik
Micheal Ferland - Matt Stajan - Garnet Hathaway
Mark Giordano - Dougie Hamilton
TJ Brodie - Dennis Wideman
Jyrki Jokipakka - Deryk Engelland
Chad Johnson
Brian Elliott
Scratched: Freddie Hamilton, Brett Kuluak
Injured: Lance Bouma (upper body), Ladislav Smid (neck)
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.