'We've got to take a step up': Stars need to take home show on the road

Stars (17-12-2, 36 points) vs. Blues (20-10-5, 45 points)

Stars coach Rick Bowness mentioned it just when he was told the league would be shutting down in December.
After two very impressive home wins, the Stars coach said his team was champing at the bit to go out on the road and play at Chicago. Six postponed games later, Dallas will finally get its chance. Yes, it's the second day of a back-to-back, and yes, it's a very strong challenge against a Blues team that's 13-3-3 at home, but if ever the Stars wanted a test, this is it.
Dallas is 13-3-1 at home and 4-9-1 on the road. They've won four straight at home and have lost four in a row on the road. So, getting a win Sunday would be huge.
"There's no change in how we want to play, home or road," Bowness said after his team played very hard in beating the Penguins 3-2 Saturday. "We've got to be able to do it on the road. The key is to play the way we did [Saturday] in the second and third [Sunday]. There's no 'We've got to make this change. We've got to make that change. We've got to do this. We've got to do that.
"Let's not overthink it," he added. "We've got to show up, and we've got to compete and we've got to trust each other and we've got to have structure to what we're doing."
The good thing for the Stars is they're starting to see their depth scoring improve. A second line with Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Denis Gurianov has emerged in the past three games, and the top line of Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz and Joe Pavelski continues to buzz. That's the kind of depth you need on the road.
"It's a little bit of everything," Benn said when asked why the line is playing well. "Obviously, Denis' speed. Seggy's got a great shot, makes a lot of great plays. I'm just trying to do my part out there. We're trying to build as a line."
So, can the two lines present a challenge against a Blues team that's 3-1-0 since returning from the break and is coming off a 5-1 win over Washington?
"We've got to start winning on the road," said Pavelski. "It's kind of where the path is for us to get to where we want to go. So we've got to take a step up and start producing there."

What to watch

It was reported by The Fourth Period this week that Stars defenseman John Klingberg has requested a trade. Klingberg on Saturday said that's not exactly true, but that he's frustrated by contract negotiations with the Stars.
Klingberg can become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and has stated that he'd like to stay in Dallas. However, he's in the market for a seven- to eight-year extension and will turn 30 before the next contract kicks in. In addition, the going rate for a player of his caliber is getting higher, and that could force the Stars into being cautious.
The business side of the sport can be frustrating, he said, but added that his first goal is to play well and help his team win.
"It's what I have to do," he said. "Contract's up after this year. I have to play good. I have to prove myself. Business-side, it is what it is. Hockey-side, I have to go out there, I'm a Dallas Star. I'm going to keep going out there, play my best game and help this team win. It's just a business."
Klingberg has 17 points in 26 games this season and has been on a roll lately with a goal and seven assists in his past six games. In 28 career games against the Blues, he has 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists) and is plus-9.

Lineup update

Braden Holtby is expected in net. He's 8-2-0 in his career with a 2.38 goals-against average and .922 save percentage.
Here's the expected lineup:
Robertson-Hintz-Pavelski
Gurianov-Benn-Seguin
Raffl-Faksa-Glendening
Kiviranta-Peterson-Radulov
Suter-Klingberg
Lindell-Heiskanen
Sekera-Hakanpaa
Holtby
Oettinger

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Numbers

44

Benn has 44 points in 47 career games against the Blues with 21 goals and 23 assists. He's plus-10 in that span.

14-4-1

The Stars are 14-4-1 when scoring first and 3-8-1 when allowing the first goal. Two of those wins when allowing the first goal have come in the past two games. St. Louis is 10-5-4 when scoring first and 10-5-1 when allowing the first goal.

51-29

St. Louis leads the NHL in second-period goal scoring with 51 and in second period goal differential at plus-22. The second period has been Dallas' worst at 28-40.

He said it

"I told you this a couple of days ago that Jani Hakanpää has been playing really well and his minutes are going to go up and his responsibilities are going up. So, if he ends up there with Esa Lindell] against the top line, we have full confidence that Hakanpaa can control that, and it frees up Miro [Heiskanen] and John [Klingberg], who are more offensive. The pairings worked out well [Saturday], and we will see where it goes [Sunday]." *-- Bowness on how the improvement in the game of Hakanpaa is creating different defense pairings for the Stars in recent games.*
*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*.