"I think we needed a little bit of time away (to) collect ourselves, but it was a good skate this morning," forward Jamie McGinn said Tuesday. "... We realize the importance. We can't let this slip away. We're behind the eight ball right now, so we've got to get back to work and get things going the right direction and it starts with our work ethic and how we work together as a team."
The Coyotes will enter the game in 13th place in the Western Conference standings, 11 points behind Calgary, which holds the conference's eighth and final would-be playoff berth.
Mike Smith will start in goal against the team that drafted him 161st overall in 2001. Smith has posted a 7-6-5 record and two shutouts vs. the Stars in 18 appearances vs. his former team.
Forward Radim Vrbata leads the Coyotes in goals (eight), assists (14) and points (22), and he has scored 19 of his 267 goals vs. Dallas, his highest goal total vs. any NHL team. However, Vrbata has not scored a goal since Dec. 3, a span of 11 games.
Defenseman Alex Goligoski, who leads the Coyotes with 64 blocked shots, played six seasons for Dallas before signing with the Coyotes last summer. He produced 32 goals and 155 assists in 385 games with the Stars and served as an alternate captain there.
"I have nothing but good things to say about that organization and all the people in it," said Goligoski, who also played in 19 playofff games with Dallas. "It was a good run there. We're looking to do similar things here."
Defenseman Jakob Chychrun and forward Ryan White did not play in Friday's game because of injuries. Chychrun will be back in the lineup but White will not. He is considered day-to-day.
