What to watch for as Stars cap road trip at Buffalo

BUFFALO, N.Y. --The Dallas Stars will close out a four-game road trip against Eastern Conference foes with a visit to Buffalo and the struggling Buffalo Sabres on Saturday at noon.
Here's what to watch for.

Taking care of business

Let's not dance around this. The fact of the matter is the Sabres are not a very good hockey team right now.
Following a hard-fought 4-3 loss to the New York Rangers on Thursday night, the Sabres -- and their 31 points -- are dead last in the Eastern Conference, which is where they've been for most of the season. Only Arizona with their 29 points, have fewer among the NHL's 31 teams.
The Sabres' minus-53 goal differential is also the worst in the conference and 30th in the league. They rank last in goals scored per game and second-to-last in power-play efficiency, although they are coming off a game in which they scored twice with the man advantage, and have four power-play goals in their last four games. They have not won two in a row since the third week of October.
Should we go on? Okay.
The Sabres killed both New York power-play opportunities and that ended a stretch of seven straight games in which they allowed at least one power-play goal.
But look up and down this lineup and it is blessed with high-end talent, starting with the man taken one pick after Connor McDavid in the 2015 draft, Jack Eichel, who leads the team in goals, assists and points.
Ryan O'Reilly, Evander Kane -- the subject now of almost non-stop trade talk given his impending free agency -- and Kyle Okposo, these are all quality NHL forwards. And rookie head coach (and Hall of Fame defenseman) Phil Housley praised his team's net-front presence against the Rangers. So, sure, this is a game that the Stars should be able to exert their will in terms of pressuring the Sabres in their zone, and should have the upper hand in terms of special teams.
But shame on the Stars if they waltz onto the ice Saturday and assume the Sabres are just going to hand over two points.

Looking for more

Hitchcock was no less disappointed Friday about getting only one point in Thursday's shootout loss than he was postgame in Columbus.
And if there is a theme he wanted to hammer home to his players on Friday during a spirited practice, that included some high-intensity battle drills, it's that playing well for portions of games isn't going to be enough. And specifically, Hitchcock has been unhappy with his team's start in the last two games on this current four-game swing east, even though they are 2-0-1 heading into Saturday's contest, feeling they weren't where they needed to be against Detroit, which scored in the opening minute, and Columbus, which also ended up with an early 1-0 lead.
"What was disappointing was our start, and the start is a reflection of everybody," Hitchcock said. "It's a reflection of the coaches, it's a reflection of the players. At this time of year, after 45 games, you want to have your team ready to go and we had to go the other way.
"We weren't ready to play and that's on all of us, so that's disappointing. It's just as disappointing for myself on preparation, and so, you're not catching the right trigger moments and getting people ready, so we addressed it today."
The team isn't going to win every game, but they can't afford to ease off in terms of their preparation.
"We're playing awful well and we just don't want to let go of the rope," Hitchcock said. "And more important, when you have those type of starts, that's a sign that you're letting go of the rope a little bit. So we wanted to guard against that."

Lehtonen gets chance for more road magic

This road trip began on Monday afternoon in Boston with Kari Lehtonen turning in a stellar 30-save performance in the Stars' 3-2 overtime win over one of the NHL's hottest teams. With Ben Bishop playing the middle two games, a 4-2 win over Detroit and a 2-1 shootout loss to Columbus on Thursday, Lehtonen will get a chance to close out the trip with a second straight win on the road.
In fact, Lehtonen is 3-1 in his last four starts -- all of which have come on the road.
By any calculation, coming up with seven of a possible eight points on the road is a successful trip. And Lehtonen will get the chance to make that so.

Lineup notes

Martin Hanzal did not skate Friday, but he should be ready to go against Buffalo. And look for rookie defenseman Dillon Heatherington to get a second straight start after he made his NHL debut in positive fashion on Thursday in Columbus.
Playing with Stephen Johns, Heatherington looked poised in a limited role -- he played 13:28 -- but a look for two games in a row will provide another level of evaluation for Hitchcock and his staff.
"I think you throw out the first game a guy plays," Hitchcock said. "You throw it out, good or bad, and (Thursday) was really good.
"He did a really good job. He was a sound player. Now, you're into the crux and you're into the guts of what a guy's got. So second, third, fourth (or) fifth game gives you better evaluation. We sure liked what we saw, but let's get more games in and let's see where we're at."
Expect Heatherington to again play alongside Johns after making his debut against the team that selected him 50th overall in 2013.

Wither Julius Honka?

One of the elements of Heatherington's game that differentiates himself from Julius Honka, whose place Heatherington took in the lineup is his physical presence.
Given his size (he's 6-foot-4, 215 pounds), he more closely resembles the missing Marc Methot, who continues to rehab a knee injury. Honka, of course, is an asset whose offensive skill set (and physical stature at 5'11, 186) makes him a completely different player and offers a wider range of options when Hitchcock is assembling his lineup.
Honka took a hard hit from Antoine Roussel during a drill Friday and ultimately left practice, but will be fine whenever Hitchcock decides he will come back in the lineup.
"For me, for Honks, this is on-the-job training," Hitchcock said. "If you're sitting here counting on 20- and 21-year-olds to carry your hockey club, you're not winning very many games. So he's on the learning curve. He's done a really good job. He's way more competitive than even I thought he was. He's got good transition.
"I think one of the things we'd like to see more of is more activity from the red line in."
In short, the coaching staff would like to see more Honka in Honka's game.
"I don't want to say reckless, but more green light," Hitchcock said. "He's sometimes too conservative and we want to see him jump and be active."
This story was not subject to approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club. You can follow Scott on Twitter at @OvertimeScottB, and listen to his Burnside Chats podcast here.