Stars forward Jason Dickinson came off the ice after Wednesday's practice and the Make-A-Wish North Texas scrimmage against Anderson McDuffie and The EKG's at StarCenter Frisco and said he was ready to return from his back injury.

A short time later, Stars coach Jim Montgomery confirmed that Dickinson would be in the lineup Thursday night when the Stars take on the Los Angeles Kings at American Airlines Center.

What you should know about Thursday's game between the Dallas Stars and Los Angeles Kings:

The Dallas Stars lost their third straight game, falling to league-leading Tampa Bay, 2-0, at American Airlines Center Tuesday night.

The Stars played well but couldn't find the back of the net against Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, who stopped 35 shots for his third shutout of the season. The Stars went 0-for-6 on the power play.

Dallas, which has dropped four of its last five games, fell to 23-10-4 on the season.

Here are five things from Tuesday's game.

Before Tuesday's tilt against the league-best Tampa Bay Lightning, the Stars got an assist from someone who knows a thing or two about big games: former Dallas Cowboys All-Pro receiver Dez Bryant.

Andrew Cogliano knew something was brewing when he got up Monday morning to see that he had a call from Anaheim GM Bob Murray on his phone.

"He wasn't calling to say good game last night," Cogliano said.

The Ducks had lost their 11th straight game in Winnipeg the night before, and Cogliano had the sense with the team mired in a long losing streak changes were on the horizon. And Monday, the Ducks did make a change, dealing Cogliano to Dallas in exchange for forward Devin Shore.

"I think I could have used the change to be honest," Cogliano said. "It was a situation in Anaheim where you kind of feel it a little bit, we were losing a bunch of games and it was a situation where guys were going to be moved. I was the first."

1. He has not missed a game due to an injury

Andrew Cogliano was on the fourth longest ironman streak in NHL history last season when it was stopped at 830 games.

Cogliano was suspended two games for a hit on Kings forward Adrian Kempe that drew an interference penalty in the game. While many pushed for a fine instead of a suspension, knowing about the ironman streak, the NHL said of the hit: "In addition to the lateness of the hit, what elevates this check to merit supplemental discipline is the substantial head contact and the significant force."

Cogliano was emotional at having the streak end, saying "It's a tough pill to swallow."

Cogliano has played 912 of 914 possible games in his NHL career and has not missed a game due to injury. The NHL's all-time ironman streak is 964 games, set by Doug Jarvis, who went on to serve several seasons as an assistant coach with the Stars.

What you should know about Tuesday's game between the Dallas Stars and Tampa Bay Lightning:

Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill dipped into the trade market Monday to add some speed and experience to his team's lineup, acquiring veteran forward Andrew Cogliano from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for forward Devin Shore.

"We want to play a faster-paced game, and I think Andrew Cogliano is one of the best at that in the league," Nill said.

There is a difference between patience and passivity.

There is difference between calm and careless.

There is difference between prepared and presumptuous.

And right now, the Stars can't seem to find it.

The Dallas Stars got off to a rough start on their homestand Saturday night, falling 3-1 to the St. Louis Blues at American Airlines Center.

The Stars found themselves down 1-0 just 34 seconds into the game and down 2-0 by the midway point of the first period, and they could never recover.

Erik Condra scored the lone goal, and Ben Bishop stopped 25 shots for the Stars, who lost their second straight game and fell to 23-19-4 on the season.

Here are five things from Saturdays' game.