Stars reward Khudobin with chance to 'steal a win' against old mates

Anton Khudobin will get the start in goal tonight as the Dallas Stars look to make it four straight wins on their current road trip when they take on the Boston Bruins at TD Garden.
Khudobin, who spent the previous two seasons in Boston, will be making his fourth start of the season for the Stars. He was superb in last Thursday's 2-1 win at Toronto, stopping 30 of 31 shots and coming up with several huge saves.
"He's such a competitive player," Stars coach Jim Montgomery said. "And he's been so good for us it is nice to reward him with an opportunity to go into his old home and try to steal us a win."

The Stars could make one lineup change tonight, and that would come at forward where Justin Dowling probably will come into the lineup for Brett Ritchie.
"Ritchie is under the weather, so we'll see how he is tonight," said Montgomery, "but more than likely it will be Dowling back in."
If Dowling does play, he is expected to skate as the right wing on the fourth line with Gemel Smith and Jason Dickinson. The top three lines are expected to be the same as last game.
No changes are expected on defense where the six to play tonight will be Esa Lindell, John Klingberg, Miro Heiskanen, Roman Polak, Julius Honka, and Dillon Heatherington.

Marc Methot will sit out with a lower-body injury for the fifth time in the last nine games.
"Meth is still not 100 percent," Montgomery said. "And we liked how the team played last game. If he was good, he'd be back in."
Montgomery will also tweak his power play units against the Bruins penalty kill, putting Tyler Pitlick onto the top unit with Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, Jason Spezza, and John Klingberg and moving Miro Heiskanen back to the second unit.
"It's a different style of PK in zone," Montgomery said. "We think it will give us better opportunities at success."
Pitlick had played on the top unit previously, scoring a power-play goal in the Oct. 23 game against Los Angeles.
Alexander Radulov (lower body) remains out and is back in Dallas getting treatment. Connor Carrick (foot) and Stephen Johns (post-traumatic headaches) remain on injured reserve along with Martin Hanzal (back).
Tonight's game is the fifth of a six-game road trip for the Stars (8-5-0). They are 3-1-0 on the trip so far with wins in the last three games over Montreal, Toronto, and Washington.

Opposition watch: Boston Bruins

The Bruins (7-4-2) are coming off a 1-0 loss at Nashville on Saturday. Predators defenseman Roman Josi's goal at 14:49 was the lone tally of the game. Boston has been shut out in two of the past three games. Since a 4-1-0 start to the season, the Bruins are 3-3-2 over their past eight games. Tuukka Rask will start in goal tonight for the Bruins. Defenseman Matt Grzelcyk (lower body) is a game-time decision. Boston defensemen Charlie McAvoy and Kevan Miller both are on injured reserve.

Stat pack

Tonight's game

Who:Dallas Stars at Boston Bruins
Where: TD Garden
When: 6:00 p.m.
TV:Fox Sports Southwest
Radio:The Ticket 1310 AM/96.7 FM

Stars projected lineup

Devin Shore - Tyler Seguin - Mattias Janmark
Jamie Benn - Jason Spezza - Valeri Nichushkin
Blake Comeau - Radek Faksa - Tyler Pitlick
Gemel Smith - Jason Dickinson - Justin Dowling
Esa Lindell - John Klingberg
Miro Heiskanen - Roman Polak
Dillon Heatherington - Julius Honka
Anton Khudobin
Ben Bishop
Scratched: None
Injured:Brett Ritchie (illness), Alexander Radulov (lower body), Marc Methot (lower body), Connor Carrick (foot), Stephen Johns (post-traumatic headaches), Martin Hanzal (back)

Bruins projected lineup

Brad Marchand -- Patrice Bergeron -- David Pastrnak
Joakim Nordstrom -- David Krejci -- Jake DeBrusk
Danton Heinen - David Backes - Anders Bjork
Chris Wagner -- Sean Kuraly -- Noel Acciari
Zdeno Chara -- Brandon Carlo
Torey Krug -- John Moore
Jeremy Lauzon -- Steven Kampfer
Tuukka Rask
Jaroslav Halak
Scratched: Anton Blidh
Injured:Charlie McAvoy (upper body), Matt Grzelcyk (lower body), Urho Vaakanainen (concussion), Kevan Miller (hand)
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.