Dallas Stars’ Friday Practice Update: Anything Is Possible Now

After a 3-2 loss against the Nashville Predators that dropped the Dallas Stars to a record of 0-4-2 through their last six games, they entered practice Friday morning simply searching for an answer in order to end their winless woes. They are certainly hoping to gain a valuable strategy to use in time for Saturday night’s game against the San Jose Sharks. Lindy Ruff followed up this plea with a plethora of changes and news. Here is the most recent information from Friday’s morning skate: First off, forwards Valeri Nichushkin and Cody Eakin are hurt. “Val is hurt again. It’s tough to try to get him going in games when he is not quite healthy,” Dallas Stars head coach Lindy Ruff said. “He’s tried, and he’s feeling it again. We’ll see where it leads to today.” Nichushkin had just come off of the injured reserve after a nine game absence in which he dealt with a hip/groin injury that he had been nursing since training camp. He played against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday and the Nashville Predators on Thursday, and it seems as though he re-aggravated the prior injury somewhere in those two contests. Nichushkin is still pointless through four games and holds a -3 rating. Cody Eakin was a late, game-time scratch for Thursday night’s contest against the Predators, and missed Friday’s practice as well with an upper-body injury. “Eakin probably won’t be available,” Ruff said in regards to Saturday night’s matchup against the San Jose Sharks. Eakin has contributed well for the Stars this year, scoring two goals and tallying two assists through 12 games played. With two forwards likely out, that leaves the Dallas Stars with 11 healthy players on offense. 12 is required in a hockey game, being four lines consisting of three players on each (for all you newcomers), so the Stars will likely have to call up a twelfth man, possibly even a thirteenth to have a healthy scratch on hand should they need one. Many are hoping that these two players turn out to be Travis Morin and Curtis McKenzie. These two greatly impressed in training camp as well as the preseason and are both hungry to get their shot in the pros. McKenzie has played in two games with the Stars already this season, but gained nothing except a -1 rating. Morin played four games last season with the Stars, pulling out one assist and a +2 rating. Jason Spezza and Ales Hemsky missed Friday’s practice for maintenance days, but they will both be ready to go tomorrow night. The other big note from practice would be Ruff’s juggling of the defense. He said that Brenden Dillon is having some trouble playing on the right side of the Benn-Dillon pair, and that he will most likely be splitting up the dynamic-duo first line of Alex Goligoski and Trevor Daley. Dillon’s main problem was being a left-handed shot, and the Dallas Stars have no answer for that considering all of their defensemen are left-handed. Goligoski will be moving down to the second pair with Jordie Benn on the left side and him on the right. Dillon would move to the top line and form a Dillon-Daley first pair. Ruff said that they may switch back later on in the game, but that they would definitely try these new pairs from puck drop. The third line would remain as Sergei Gonchar and either Kevin Connauton or Jamie Oleksiak. Lindy Ruff also made it clear that there could be some changes in the forward lines as well. Quotable (Lindy Ruff): “I think when you haven’t won in a number of games, you’ve got to be willing to try anything. The definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over again and getting the same results. I am not one to go down that road.” So how many changes will we see in tomorrow’s starting lineup when the Dallas Stars take on the San Jose Sharks? Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 PM CST. Make sure to stay tuned to BlackoutDallas.com for previews and post-game reports! If you’re going to the game tomorrow night, read below for a possible traffic delay: If you use the North Dallas Tollway to get to Dallas Stars games, there will be some lane closures that will affect your trip to and from the game. Here’s the list of closures from the NTTA: The following closures are scheduled on the DNT near Lemmon Avenue and Maple Avenue/Knight Street: 10 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7, through 5 a.m. Monday, Nov. 10 (Continuous): • Two northbound right lanes from Wolf Street to Lemmon Avenue closed. • Two southbound right lanes from Beverly Drive to Maple Avenue closed. One north- and southbound DNT left lane will remain open during the closures. The closures are needed for a bridge deck repair project on the DNT main lanes at Lemmon Avenue and Maple Avenue/Knight Street. Old concrete will be removed and replaced on the main lanes’ bridge decks. Additional weekend closures will be needed for the bridge repairs through November. Work on the DNT main lanes is anticipated to be complete by the end of November, weather permitting. The NTTA appreciates the public’s patience while these improvements are made. Message boards will be placed along the roadway to advise motorists of the closures.