The message for Stars on Thursday is simple: find a way to win in Calgary

Stars (43-29-5, 91 points) vs. Flames (47-20-10, 104 points)

CALGARY, Alberta -- The Stars have dealt well with adversity this season and have typically come up with big wins when needed.
Thursday might be a time for a nice resurgence.
Dallas has looked shaky in losses at Vancouver and Edmonton and now sits just two points ahead of Vegas in the battle for the second wild card spot. The Stars are 43-29-5 for 91 points. Vegas is 42-31-5 for 89 points. The Golden Knights have played one more game, but they hold the first tiebreaker of regulation wins. The two teams also meet on Tuesday in Dallas.
That means if the Stars win on Thursday (or even gain a point) and then take care of business against Seattle on Saturday at home, then Tuesday's game has a little bit of wiggle room. If they lose on Thursday and Vegas is within two points, then Tuesday's game could go a long way in eliminating either the Stars or the Golden Knights.
There are a lot of other variables in there, but the bottom line is a win right now would help the Stars immensely.
"We're running out of time, there's five games left," said Stars coach Rick Bowness. "We still control our own destiny, and we don't want to lose that, so we've got to get something out of [Thursday's] game."

The Stars have run into a few buzzsaws on this trip, as Vancouver had won six in a row and Edmonton is now 9-1-1 in its past 11. Calgary is 7-1-1 in its past nine games and touts some two of the top scorers in the league.
So, a Stars team that hasn't played well has to find the keys to bouncing back on the second night of a road back-to-back.
"We've just got to get our team game back, positionally-wise, execution-wise, compete-wise," Bowness said. "We're not having a consistent five people on the same page, and it shows. It shows a lack of practice time, it shows a lot of games, but we don't have time and got to try to find that Dallas Stars hockey."
The Stars allowed six goals in Vancouver and 50 shots against in Edmonton, so finding the defensive focus will be a big part of the challenge on Thursday.
"Our team is defense-first, especially on the road," forward Radek Faksa said. "We have to play smart because Edmonton has lots of rush players, lots of skill, lots of speed. Same in Vancouver. We have to learn and be better next game in Calgary because it's another playoff game for us."

What to watch

The Flames and Stars could meet in the first round of the playoffs. If Dallas finishes in the first wild card spot, it'll travel to Calgary. If it finishes in the second wild card, it'll travel to Colorado. So, does that increase the meaning of this game?
"I'm not looking that far ahead," Bowness said. "I'm not worried about who we play in the first (round), we've just got to get in."
The Flames actually have three of these games, so they also are avoiding the tendency to overthink. The Flames lost in a shootout at Nashville on Tuesday, play the Stars on Thursday and are back at Nashville next Tuesday. The Flames could play either team in the first round.
Bowness said that's too much for his team right now to think about.
"We've just got to get the Dallas Stars team game back and then the rest will take care of itself," he said.
Here's a possible lineup:
Jake Oettinger returns in goal. Lines could be jumbled, and additions could be made. Here's what the Stars ran last game:
Robertson-Hintz-Pavelski
Peterson-Seguin-Gurianov
Raffl-Faksa-Glendening
Studenic-Benn-Radulov
Suter-Heiskanen
Lindell-Klingberg
Hanley-Hakanpaa
Oettinger
Wedgewood

Numbers

5-10

The Flames are 5-10 in games that go past regulation, including 3-8 in overtime. Dallas is 14-5, including 10-3 in overtime.

Plus-60

Johnny Gaudreau leads the NHL at +60 in plus-minus. Teammates Elias Lindholm (+56) and Matthew Tkachuk (+53) are second and third.

35

Jamie Benn has 35 points (20 goals, 15 assists) in 36 career games against the Flames.

He said it

"We'll get it back. I have full faith in this group." -- Bowness on the team finding its identity
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heikais a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika.