Stars will need "big performance" from Khudobin tonight against Philly

Stars (4-6-2, 10 points) vs. Flyers (7-3-2, 16 points)

Nothing is easy for the Stars, it seems.
Still, they have to find a way to adjust.
Braden Holtby was scheduled to start Saturday's game against the Philadelphia Flyers but has been bothered by a nagging lower-body ailment, so the team decided Friday night that the best decision was to allow Holtby to rest.
Because of this, Anton Khudobin got the notice at 7 p.m. on Friday that he'd start on Saturday, and Jake Oettinger got the call to back up. Oettinger played in Cedar Park Friday night and had 30 saves in a 2-1 shootout loss against Colorado.
Khudobin is 2-2-1 on the year with a 3.27 goals-against average and .885 save percentage. He played against both Calgary and Vancouver on the road last week, so he shouldn't be rusty.
Asked if he's played on short notice before, the man who has been a backup for much of his career laughed and said, "yeah."
Asked if it affects him, he said: "I just got to go play."
Asked if the pressure of the Stars having one win in their past seven games (and no wins in regulation) and coming off a 4-2 loss that spurred a team meeting and some roster movement would affect him, Khudobin shrugged.
"I don't think so because like I said, you just got to go play," he said. "We didn't get one regulation win. Do I understand that? Of course. Do I have to think about it? No."

Khudobin has posted numbers that are among the worst in his career so far this season, but he said he feels confident in his game.
"The numbers aren't good, but I think I play really good," he said.
Stars head coach Rick Bowness said the team has trust in Khudobin and needs the 35-year-old to come up big.
"It's kind of like the team, with the inconsistencies, but if there is ever a game where we need a big performance from the goalie, it's this one," Bowness said. "And we're very confident he's going to give it. So regardless of what has gone on, it's tonight that matters, and we need a big performance from our goaltender."
One of the interesting twists on the evening will be that Khudobin will wear black pads to match the Stars' blackout uniforms. Khudobin has said in the past he doesn't like black pads, but that he likes the look of these.
"Everybody loves them, to be honest," he said of the change. "I don't like black color for pads, because you kind of lose the puck because the puck is matching to your pads, so it's kind of hard to find the puck. Sometimes even if it stays in your glove, you don't see it. But it's the third jersey, it looks great, and everybody loves it."

What to watch

Riley Tufte will make his NHL debut tonight, and that's expected to help drive some energy into the lineup. It's the reason the Stars sent Blake Comeau and Tanner Kero through waivers and assigned them to the AHL.
Also being recalled and placed in the lineup is Jacob Peterson. The 22-year-old winger came over from Sweden this season and made the opening night roster. He played six games with the Stars and had a goal, but then was assigned to the AHL after he seemed to have hit the wall at the NHL level. He has played six games for the Texas Stars and tallied five points (two goals, three assists) in the process.
He said he's ready to return.
"It's been a good time in Austin, to play more games and to get more used to this game here," Peterson said. "I get to play a lot too, so it was good for me to play down there. I had a great time. But of course, it feels good to be up here again."
Bowness said he likes Peterson's calmness and creativity, and he'll put him on a line with Tyler Seguin and Alexander Radulov.
"We like Petey's play-making ability, he's poised with the puck and we're searching for ways to find more than two or three goals a game," Bowness said. "He's good with the puck, he hangs onto it and he makes play, and that's what we're going to look for from him."
Peterson played on bigger rinks in Sweden, so he's had to get used to the North American game. Bowness said one of the reasons to send him to the AHL was to give him more minutes in the smaller rinks.
Asked if he's still adjusting, Peterson said: "Maybe a little bit, but I've played over 10 games here now, so I think I'm getting used to it."

Asked what's best about being in the NHL, Peterson said he really likes observing the top professionals in not only how they play, but how they prepare for games and practice.
"I learn how the big guys work every day. I think that's the biggest part," he said. "I see how guys who have been here for a while and see how they do every day and try to do the same thing to be up here all of the time."

Lineup updates

The two new forward additions mean the Stars will shuffle the lines again. Jamie Benn has moved from left wing back to center and both Tufte and Peterson are on the left wing. Tufte is expected to bring a physical force, but he also has five goals in 10 games in the AHL, so he could be seen as a player who can get to the net and stir things up.
While the coaching staff put Esa Lindell and John Klingberg together at practice Friday, Klingberg seems to be back with Ryan Suter to start tonight's game. As always, all of this is open to change. Here are the expected lines:
Robertson-Hintz-Pavelski
Peterson-Seguin-Radulov
Raffl-Benn-Gurianov
Tufte-Faksa-Glendening
Suter-Klingberg
Lindell-Heiskanen
Sekera-Hakanpaa
Khudobin
Oettinger
Holtby watched the morning skate from the tunnel in street clothes, and Bowness said the 32-year-old goalie is "day to day" with his lower-body injury.
"I think it's more since training camp, it's wear and tear," Bowness said when asked if Holtby suffered the injury in Wednesday's game or in Friday's practice. "Nothing has jumped out at us. It's just he needed a break a little bit."

Joel Kiviranta will get his first healthy scratch of the season. He has one assist in 12 games but leads the Stars in hits with 33.
"He's worked very hard for us," Bowness said. "It's not that we're mad at the way he plays, that's how he plays. He works and he bangs and he skates and he's a little pain in the butt to play against. But there's not enough offense coming from him, so the end results is we're not generating enough chances with him on the ice."
Both Comeau and Kero have been assigned to the minors. Comeau has the option to not report and would then be suspended, but Bowness said he thinks the 35-year-old veteran will go to the AHL.
"I would assume. I think that's what he's going to decide with he and his family," Bowness said.
Bowness added he thinks Comeau playing in the AHL could be a positive.
"It would be good for us to have him down there playing, showing the kids how to play," Bowness said. "It would be great for the organization because his character and his compete and his physicality, he could go down there and the young kids would see this is what you have to do to play in the National Hockey League, and it gives us the option of bringing him back."

Numbers

11-6

Another fast-starting team for the Stars. Philadelphia has outscored teams 11-6 in first periods and outshot them 133-110. Dallas has been outscored 9-8 and outshot 113-97 in first periods.

28

Seguin has 28 points (nine goals, 19 assists) in 23 career games against the Flyers.

5

Dallas has scored power-play goals in five straight games. The Stars have gone 6-for-13 (46.2 percent) during that stretch and rank third overall in power-play success.

He said it

"Just in time for dinner and to get the little man settled down. It was an awesome day, probably the best three-hour drive I've had in my life." -- Tufte on getting the news Thursday that he'd been called up from Cedar Park to make his NHL debut Saturday against Philadelphia. Tufte drove up with his fiancé Morgan and their son Jax and arrived about 6 p.m. Thursday.
Great seats are still available for tonight's Stars game against Philadelphia. Get your tickets now!
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.