Stars hope for good home cooking against Buffalo

Buffalo Sabres at Dallas Stars

About the Stars

The Stars (7-6-0) concluded a five-game road trip with a 5-2 loss at Winnipeg on Thursday. The Jets scored three goals in a 4:18 span of the first period to take a 3-0 lead and the Stars could never recover.
"We weren't ready to play at the start. That's on me," said coach Ken Hitchcock. "We had too many passengers today. You could see it in our execution. Even when we got it to 3-2, we weren't executing at a high level. Kudos to them, but we were not ready to compete at the start at the level that the game was at."
The Stars went 2-3-0 on the road trip and are 3-5-0 away from home for the season. They'll try to get back on track at home where they have won four in a row.
"It's huge," said defenseman John Klingberg. "We lost three games on the road and won two. We wanted to at least get the last one in Winnipeg. It's going to be huge for us to keep building on our home game. We've been playing good at home, and we have confidence playing at home. We need to find it on the road as well. Coming back after a long road trip, we need a good first period and good momentum in the game."
Center Martin Hanzal (lower body) and right wing Brett Ritchie (upper body) both remain out for the Stars. Both are expected to miss at least the next two games.
Kari Lehtonen will get the start in goal.
Saturdays' game begins a three-game homestand for the Stars.
Injuries: C Martin Hanzal (lower body) and RW Brett Ritchie (upper body) are out.

About the Sabres

The Sabres (4-7-2) are coming off a 5-4 win at Arizona Thursday. Benoit Pouliot tallied two goals and one assist as the Sabres built a 5-1 lead and then held on as the Coyotes rattled off three goals in the last half of the third period to win for the first time in three games.
"We got away from what made us successful, and we almost shot ourselves in the foot," Sabres coach Phil Housley said. "Obviously, we'll take the win."
Buffalo defenseman Justin Faulk played his first game of the season after missing the first 12 with a lower-body injury.
Saturday's game is the final of a two-game road trip for Buffalo which is 3-2-0 in its past five games overall.
Injuries:Justin Bailey (lower body) is day to day. D Nathan Beaulieu (upper body), D Josh Gorges (lower body), F Jacob Josefson (lower body), D Zach Bogosian (lower body), and F Evan Rodrigues (hand) all are on injured reserve.

Season Series

Statistical Tidbits

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.