Roussel, Johns doubtful vs. Kings

Forward Antoine Roussel and defenseman Stephen Johns are both doubtful to play tonight as the Stars take on the Los Angeles Kings at American Airlines Center.
Roussel left Wednesday's practice early with an undisclosed injury and did not practice Thursday. He did not take part in this morning's optional skate at the AAC but apparently tried to skate earlier.
"Antoine gave it a quick try and left the ice," said Stars coach Lindy Ruff.
Johns missed part of Tuesday's game with what appeared to be a lower-body injury but finished the game. He didn't practice Wednesday, practiced Thursday and then took part in this morning's skate.
"I don't think Stephen is quite ready yet," Ruff said.
With Roussel not expected to play the Stars will have only eleven forwards available for tonight. Patrick Sharp (concussion) is still not ready to return, and Cody Eakin is serving the third game of a four-game suspension for charging. The Stars are expected to go with eleven forwards and seven defensemen.
"We've only played one game in four days, so we can double shift somebody up front and dress seven defensemen," Ruff said. "We've got options."

Ruff said there is a chance that a defenseman could be used at forward, but it will be on a limited basis.
"If we decide we are going to have someone play a few shifts at forward that would be a [Patrik] Nemeth or [Jamie] Oleksiak," Ruff said. "But I'd look at it that we've got some forwards that could handle some extra ice time. It's going to be a low-chance affair and a hard game, so I think we can rotate the backend a little bit."
Oleksiak is coming into the lineup after sitting out the past five games, two on a suspension for an illegal check to the head of Philadelphia's Chris VandeVelde and the past three as a healthy scratch. Nemeth has been a healthy scratch ten of the past eleven games.
Kari Lehtonen was the first goaltender off the ice for the Stars this morning, so he is the expected starter in goal tonight. This will be Lehtonen's first start since Dec. 11. He's backed up Antti Niemi the past four games.
This is the Stars' final game before the NHL's holiday break. The game also wraps up a five-game homestand for the Stars (13-14-7). They are 2-1-1 in the first four games. A win would give them a boost heading into the break.
"That would be huge. We need that a lot," said Stars center Radek Faksa. "It would help out our confidence before Christmas and we would be back at the .500 mark. It's a big game for us, and I believe this game could turn around the season for us."
Kings Watch
The Kings (17-13-3) did not skate this morning. They won 4-0 at Nashville last night behind a 28-save shutout from Peter Budaj. They Kings are 4-2-1 in their past seven games. In their past five games the Kings have allowed only four goals, and in four of those games they have allowed one goal or fewer. Forward Tyler Toffoli missed last night's game with a lower-body injury and is day to day.
Tonight's Game
Who: Los Angeles Kings at Dallas Stars
Where: American Airlines Center
When: 7:30 p.m.
TV: Fox Sports Southwest Plus
Radio: The Ticket 1310 AM/96.7 FM
Stars Projected Lineup
Jamie Benn - Jason Spezza - Brett Ritchie
Lauri Korpikoski - Tyler Seguin - Patrick Eaves
Curtis McKenzie - Radek Faksa - Adam Cracknell
Devin Shore - Jiri Hudler
Esa Lindell - John Klingberg
Dan Hamhuis - Jamie Oleksiak
Johnny Oduya - Jordie Benn
Patrick Nemeth
Kari Lehtonen
Antti Niemi
Scratched: None
Suspended: Cody Eakin
Injured: Antoine Roussel (undisclosed), Stephen Johns (lower body), Patrick Sharp (concussion), Mattias Janmark (knee), Ales Hemsky (hip)
Kings Projected Lineup
Dustin Brown -- Anze Kopitar - Devin Setoguchi
Dwight King -- Jeff Carter - Marian Gaborik
Tanner Pearson -- Nic Dowd - Trevor Lewis
Andy Andreoff -- Nick Shore -- Jordan Nolan
Derek Forbort -- Drew Doughty
Jake Muzzin -- Alec Martinez
Kevin Gravel - Tom Gilbert
Peter Budaj
Jeff Zatkoff
Scratched: Kyle Clifford, Matt Greene
Injured: Tyler Toffoli (lower body), Brayden McNabb (collarbone), Jonathan Quick (groin)
This story was not subject to approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club. Mark Stepneski is an independent writer whose posts on DallasStars.com reflect his own opinions and do not represent official statements from the Dallas Stars. You can follow Mark on Twitter @StarsInsideEdge.