Montgomery, Stars 'excited' for first road test at Senators

After opening the season with four straight games at home, the Dallas Stars play their first road game of the season tonight when they take on the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre. It will be the first of a two-game road trip for the Stars, who play at New Jersey on Tuesday night.
"I'm excited. I like coaching on the road because you can dictate a lot of the matchups and you can get your players out there," said Stars coach Jim Montgomery. "I am looking forward to putting out my lines and initiating. I like to coach on my toes, and I like the team to play on their toes.
"If we can initiate with who we want out on the ice, it's more like see if you can stop us. I like that kind of attitude."

Montgomery is expected to go with the same lineup he used in Saturday's 5-3 win over Anaheim that concluded a 3-1-0 season-opening homestand for the Stars. And he'll go with the forward lines he switched to that helped fuel an incredible second period in which the Stars erased a three-goal deficit by scoring four goals in a 6:32 span and outshooting the Ducks 30-4 in the frame.
Those changes included putting Blake Comeau on the top line with Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin and having Jason Spezza center Alexander Radulov and Valeri Nichushkin.
"I really liked that Radulov, Nichushkin, and Spezza line in the last two periods," Montgomery said. "I think it makes us a little more dynamic offensively and tougher to match up on the road."

On moving Comeau to the top line with Benn and Seguin, Montgomery had this to say.
"He can skate with them," Montgomery said. "Him and Jamie have a natural connection from where they played junior hockey. They've known each other a long time, and you can see there is a lot of talking going on among the three of them. I just thought it was a natural fit to have the worker go with those two."
Other changes involved Mattias Janmark moving to a line with Radek Faksa and Tyler Pitlick, and Jason Dickinson centering Devin Shore and Brett Ritchie.
There are no changes expected on defense. The pairs should be the same as last game: Esa Lindell-John Klingberg; Marc Methot-Julius Honka; Miro Heiskanen-Connor Carrick.
Ben Bishop will get the start in goal.
Tonight's expected scratches are Roope Hintz, Roman Polak, and Gemel Smith.

Methot looking forward to playing in Ottawa

Stars defenseman Marc Methot will play in Ottawa tonight for the first time since Vegas selected him in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft and then traded him to the Stars a few days later. Methot, who played five seasons with the Senators, missed last season's game in Ottawa after he suffered a hand injury in Montreal a few days before.
"I didn't get a chance to play in front of everybody (last season), but I have a lot of friends and family coming tonight. It should be cool," Methot said.
A lot has changed with the Senators since Methot left. The Senators are in a rebuild, and several players are gone, including Methot's defense partner in Ottawa, Erik Karlsson. But Methot still keeps up with his old team.
"It's changed. I certainly keep tabs. I still have some friends over there," Methot said. "They are surprising a lot of people right now with the way they've been playing from what I understand. The team is rebuilding, and they've got a lot of good young players and mixing it in with that system they play, I am sure they'll be pretty effective."

Opposition watch: Ottawa Senators

The Senators (2-2-1) are coming off a 5-1 win over Los Angeles Saturday. Craig Anderson stopped 36 shots, and defenseman Chris Wideman scored twice for the Senators, who snapped a two-game losing streak.
The Senators were without defenseman Cody Ceci, and wingers Ryan Dzingel and Alex Formenton Saturday due to injuries. Those three are out for Monday and so is forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who is out long-term after tearing his Achilles tendon at the beginning of training camp.
Anderson is in goal tonight for the Senators, who are expected to dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen.

By the numbers

Tonight's game

Who:Dallas Stars at Ottawa Senators
Where:Canadian Tire Centre
When: 6:30 p.m.
TV: Fox Sports Southwest
Radio:The Ticket 1310-AM/96.7-FM

Stars projected lineup

Jamie Benn - Tyler Seguin - Blake Comeau
Valeri Nichushkin - Jason Spezza - Alexander Radulov
Mattias Janmark - Radek Faksa - Tyler Pitlick
Devin Shore - Jason Dickinson - Brett Ritchie
Esa Lindell - John Klingberg
Marc Methot - Julius Honka
Miro Heiskanen - Connor Carrick
Ben Bishop
Anton Khudobin
Scratched:Roope Hintz, Roman Polak, Gemel Smith
Injured:Stephen Johns (post-traumatic headaches), Martin Hanzal (back)

Senators projected lineup

Mikkel Boedker - Matt Duchene - Colin White
Brady Tkachuk - Zack Smith - Mark Stone
Magnus Paajarvi - Chris Tierney - Bobby Ryan
Tom Pyatt - Paul Carey
Thomas Chabot - Dylan DeMelo
Mark Borowiecki - Ben Harpur
Max Lajoie - Chris Wideman
Christian Jaros
Craig Anderson
Mike Condon
Scratched:Nick Paul
Injured:Jean-Gabriel Pageau (Achilles), Max McCormick (lower body), Alex Formenton (concussion), Ryan Dzingel (lower body), Cody Ceci (upper body)
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mark Stepneski has covered the Stars for DallasStars.com since 2012. Follow him on Twitter @StarsInsideEdge.