"[Centers] are critical pieces," Jets coach Paul Maurice said. "So we get healthy here. We look like…we're quite a bit deeper."
Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck will start for the 20th time in the past 22 games. Stars coach Lindy Ruff will counter with goalie Antti Niemi, who will make his fourth consecutive start.
Ruff will also dress defenseman Jamie Oleksiak in place of Jordie Benn (lower body). Oleksiak has played one game since Dec. 12; the Stars recalled him from Texas of the American Hockey League on Sunday after an eight-game conditioning assignment.
The Jets sits nine points behind the Nashville Predators for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. They will attempt to make a push to the playoffs using a healthier lineup when they end a stretch of nine of 10 games at home.
"[The break was] was really important," said Little, who had been battling an undisclosed injury before the break. "I think for me and a few other guys, [we] got healed up. It definitely makes a difference having some days off. I feel a lot better, and I'm sure that the guys that were sore before feel a lot better."
Dallas resumes play three points behind the Chicago Blackhawks for first place in the Central Division. The Stars have three games in hand on the Blackhawks after going 3-6-2 in January and begin a stretch of seven of their next nine games on the road.
"We've turned the page from January," Stars center Tyler Seguin said. "It's a new month. It's going to be a [31-game] sprint."
"This is going to be another good test for us. This whole month, really."
The Stars' return to the ice Monday pleased Ruff.
"I thought practice [Monday] was great," Ruff said. "I thought players had energy, a lot of jump."
However, Ruff is not sure what to expect after the long break.
"I think you'll see some mistakes that maybe you don't normally see," he said. "Sometimes when you're playing a lot of games like everybody did in January, fatigue brings a lot of mistakes too.
"Judging from practice where everybody went hard, I feel we're in the right place."
Here are the projected lineups:
STARS
Jamie Benn - Tyler Seguin - Patrick Sharp
Mattias Janmark - Jason Spezza - Patrick Eaves
Antoine Roussel - Cody Eakin - Ales Hemsky
Vernon Fiddler - Colton Sceviour - Valeri Nichushkin
Alex Goligoski - John Klingberg
Johnny Oduya - Jason Demers
Jyrki Jokipakka - Jamie Oleksiak
Antti Niemi
Kari Lehtonen
Injured: Jordie Benn (lower body)
Scratched: Travis Moen, Patrik Nemeth
JETS
Nikolaj Ehlers - Mark Scheifele - Blake Wheeler
Mathieu Perreault - Bryan Little - Drew Stafford
Andrew Ladd - Adam Lowry - Alexander Burmistrov
Chris Thorburn - Andrew Copp - Joel Armia
Jacob Trouba - Dustin Byfuglien
Toby Enstrom - Tyler Myers
Mark Stuart - Ben Chiarot
Connor Hellebuyck
Michael Hutchinson
Injured: Grant Clitsome (back), Ondrej Pavelec (knee)
Scratched: Adam Pardy, Anthony Peluso, Paul Postma
Status report: Jordie Benn will be out for the seventh time in nine games. "Jordie for me looked apprehensive [Monday]," Ruff said. "I talked to him [Tuesday], and I just feel that he needs a couple more really good practices, and I'll probably get him back in [Thursday at the Colorado Avalanche]."…Postma has not played since Nov. 10. Pardy has dressed once since Nov. 28.
Who's hot: Jamie Benn has four goals and two assists in his past seven games…Ehlers has a four-game point streak (four goals, two assists).
