Stars expect 'good test' from upset-minded Red Wings

Stars (9-9-7, 25 points) vs. Red Wings (9-17-4, 22 points)

The Detroit Red Wings sit 29th in the league in the standings at 9-17-4. They are 29th in scoring at 2.24 goals per game, and 25th in goals against at 3.30.
And yet Detroit has had four good games against Carolina and Tampa Bay in their past four outings, including a 4-2 win over the Hurricanes on Tuesday, so the Stars could have their hands full tonight.
"I think the biggest mistake we could make is taking them lightly," said Stars defenseman Joel Hanley. "They're playing really well and they're a fast team, so we have to be on top of our game and bring our best effort."
Detroit is last in the Central Division, so the Stars need to pick up these points as they try to challenge Chicago for fourth place and the final playoff spot. With Dallas at 9-9-7, it really can't look past anyone.
"We all understand where we're at," said center Joe Pavelski. "Points are important, regardless of who you're playing. And to be honest, Detroit is playing as good anyone we've seen right now. They've been winning some games and they've played teams hard. They have something going over there. We understand it will be a good test. We've got to keep putting points on our side, that's the message right now."
The Stars also are just 3-5-2 on the road right now and could use some help in that department.
"They knocked off Tampa, and they knocked off Carolina, so they are playing really, really well," Stars coach Rick Bowness said. "The coaching staff has done a good job of turning things around. Don't even look at the standings. And don't even look at the first two games we played them at the beginning of the year. Throw those out the window. This is a much improved team playing with a ton of confidence right now. Their power play is clicking, they're playing with a lot of jump, so the standings are very misleading."
"These will be two very, very difficult games for us," he added.

Radulov's return making impact on Stars

Alexander Radulov's return has been welcomed.
The 34-year-old winger missed 15 games with a lower body injury, and the Stars struggled in that span. In the two games he has been back, Radulov had a shootout goal in a 2-1 win and a tying goal in a 4-3 shootout loss. Bottom line, Dallas got three points in the standings and is feeling much better about it chances of tracking down Chicago for fourth place in the division.
"He helped get us three points out of four. That shows how much we have missed him in all of these tights games we have had in his absence," Bowness said. "You know he is going to put points on the board, you know he is going to score goals, he is always going to make plays. His last two games, getting the shootout winner and the tying goal, it shows how much we have missed him. It shows how many points we have left behind because he wasn't on the ice. We've been in every game. It shows you his importance. We've missed him."
Radulov has played 16 minutes in each game and fired five shots on net in each game. In 10 games this season, he has 12 points (four goals, eight assists) and is plus-10 in that span.
"We always know about his energy, that he loves to compete, loves to play the game," Pavelski said. "He definitely adds another level, another dimension to our team and our lineup."

'Confident kid' Oettinger to make fourth straight start

Jake Oettinger gets his fourth start in goal tonight. He is 4-1-6 on the season with a 2.16 goals against average and .917 save percentage.
"He's a very confident kid, which we've talked a lot about. Not one bit cocky, not one bit arrogant, but he knows he's a good goalie. He works incredibly hard in practice," Bowness said. "Jake is finding out how good the league is and how good he is."
Roope Hintz continues to be a game-time decision with his lower body injury. He did not play Tuesday against Tampa Bay. Hintz has four points (three goals, one assist) in three games against Detroit.
Mark Pysyk also continues to be out with a lower-body injury, so Joel Hanley will be back in on defense.
Bowness was asked Wednesday for updates on Ben Bishop (who had off-season knee surgery) and Tyler Seguin (who had off-season hip surgery).
"I get everyday updates," Bowness said. "They're not even close. To put a timeline on it, I can't do that. All I can tell you is that neither one of them is close to practicing with the team."
Bishop had surgery on Oct. 21 and Seguin on Nov. 2. Each was given a five-month recovery time, so the target seemed to be in April.

By the numbers

5

Stars winger Denis Gurianov has five points (one goal, four assists) in two games against the Red Wings this season. Gurianov has been in a slump, so this would be a good game to break out.

8

Esa Lindell has eight points (one goal, seven assists) in 10 career games against Detroit and is plus-9 in that span.

64.3

Detroit center Luke Glendening leads all eligible NHL faceoff men in success rate at 64.3 percent. Glendening has taken 445 faceoffs with 286 wins.

He said it

"Those are two of the best teams in the league, without a doubt, and I thought we went toe-to-toe with both those teams. If we play the right way, we'll put ourselves in position to win hockey games…The last Carolina game, they played good, we played good, the pace of the game was extremely fast. The way we played in that series and the way we've played in the last little bit is totally repeatable." -- Detroit coach Jeff Blashill on the recent upturn in his team's play in wins over Carolina and Tampa Bay
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, and listen to his podcast.