Stars at Maple Leafs preview

STARS (38-26-6) at MAPLE LEAFS (40-22-7)
7 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN, FS-SW, NHL.TV

Goalie Kari Lehtonen is expected to start for the Stars, who lost 4-2 against the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday. They have the second wild card in the West and the same amount of points as the Colorado Avalanche, who hold the first wild card. The Stars also are fifth in the Central Division, three points behind the third-place Minnesota Wild.
The Toronto Maple Leafs will try to extend their record home winning streak to 11 games. They're third in the Atlantic Division, nine points behind the second-place Boston Bruins.

Players to watch

Stars captain Jamie Benn scored a goal against the Canadiens and has three points (two goals, assist) in his past three games.
Maple Leafs forward Nazem Kadri has six points (five goals, assist) in his past seven games.

They said it

"We've shown some cracks so we've got to help the guys get through that stuff. It's not being mad at them but it's a new experience for a lot of guys and we're seeing some guys quite frankly not wear the pressure very well, and we've got to help them through that." -- Stars coach Ken Hitchcock
"I feel pretty calm right now but I feel like the closer you come to the game, the more I'm going to feel like it's going to become a reality. A bit nervous here and there when I think about it, but it's going to be fun." -- Maple Leafs forward Andreas Johnsson, who will make his NHL debut Wednesday

Stars projected lineup

Jamie Benn -- Tyler Seguin -- Alexander Radulov
Antoine Roussel -- Radek Faksa -- Tyler Pitlick
Devin Shore -- Jason Dickinson -- Mattias Janmark
Remi Elie -- Jason Spezza -- Brett Ritchie
Esa Lindell -- John Klingberg
Julius Honka -- Stephen Johns
Dan Hamhuis -- Greg Pateryn
Kari Lehtonen
Mike McKenna
Scratched:Gemel Smith, Dillon Heatherington
Injured: Martin Hanzal (back), Marc Methot (upper body), Ben Bishop (knee)

Maple Leafs projected lineup

Zach Hyman -- William Nylander -- Mitchell Marner
Patrick Marleau -- Nazem Kadri -- Leo Komarov
James van Riemsdyk -- Tyler Bozak -- Connor Brown
Andreas Johnsson -- Tomas Plekanec -- Kasperi Kapanen
Morgan Rielly -- Ron Hainsey
Jake Gardiner -- Roman Polak
Travis Dermott -- Connor Carrick
Frederik Andersen
Curtis McElhinney
Scratched:Josh Leivo, Matt Martin, Dominic Moore
Injured: Auston Matthews (shoulder), Nikita Zaitsev (illness)

Status report

The Stars did not have a morning skate. ... Heatherington was recalled from Texas of the American Hockey League on Wednesday. ... Babcock had no update on Zaitsev, who has not skated since Friday and will miss his second straight game. ... Matthews will miss his seventh straight game.

Stat pack

Seguin has 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in his past 10 games. … Marner has 10 points (five goals, five assists) in his past seven games.