The recruits have brought points scoring and talented offense to the team. Since the departure of Brad Richards and James Neal, the Stars were searching for consistent offense and were relying on a few players to get the majority of the work done.

Derek Roy, Ray Whitney and Jaromir Jagr were the main forward additions in the recent off-season, with Erik Cole arriving later. When you combine these names with the likes of Jamie Benn, Loui Eriksson and Brenden Morrow, you have sheer talent in abundance. The depth in the Stars’ lines has also improved dramatically.

One of, if not the most positive thing about this season so far has been the emergence of the youngsters. When being called up from the AHL Texas Stars, they have offered a lot to the Dallas Stars, rather than just being another body on the

Jan 19, 2013; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Stars left wing Loui Eriksson (21) and center Derek Roy (11) and defenseman Alex Goligoski (33) and right wing Jaromir Jagr (68) and defenseman Stephane Robidas (3) celebrate the goal by Eriksson against the Phoenix Coyotes during the third period at the American Airlines Center. The Stars defeated the Coyotes 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sportsice.

Who would have thought that Antoine Roussel would be a second line regular starter? This guy has been nothing short of awesome, adding lots of intensity and much-needed physicality.

Cody Eakin is also another who deserves a mention. He has recorded 13 points so far and his work rate without the puck is phenomenal, winning key puck battles all over the ice.

The youngsters playing in their first full NHL seasons have combined for 33 points. This just shows the impact that the more experienced players in the team have had on the younger ones. Jagr, Roy and Whitney have 3124 NHL appearances combined, they have invaluable knowledge to pass on.

With a lot of the Stars’ roster coming towards the back-end of their careers, the impressive rise of the youngsters is promising to see. The Stars as a franchise are attracting big names behind the scenes as well as on the ice. I think some good years are ahead in Texas.

Ray Whitney’s return to the line-up is just around the corner. With Kari Lehtonen fit and playing well again, the Stars will soon find some consistency and hopefully push up to a higher place in the Western Conference.

Jan 20, 2013; St. Paul, MN, USA; Dallas Stars forward Derek Roy (11) shoots during the first period against the Minnesota Wild at the Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Dallas Stars at Colorado Avalanche
Monday February 4
8:00 p.m.
TV: NBC Sports Network
Radio: KTCK-1310 (AM).

Tonight the Dallas Stars will be looking to turn it around after coming off a 2-0 loss against the Phoenix Coyotes on Sunday against an Avalanche team that started to heat it up the past few games. They will also try to stop their road woes as they tallied just four goals in their last six games. If they are going to improve their record, they need to stop getting into penalty trouble and finding ways to get to the net. But better news came today as Derek Roy, 29, will return to the lineup after missing the previous five games with a groin injury.

Their opponent tonight is the Colorado Avalanche, who won their last two games overall and undefeated over its three home games of the season. They will try to continue their winning streak after scoring three unanswered goals against the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday for a 3-1 home win. PA Parenteau scored his team-leading sixth goal in the victory.

Hopefully with Derek Roy returning to the lineup, the Stars can find their scoring touch and find a way to stop their road woes. It is a crucial game for the Stars, as they need to get back to winning ways, power play definitely and reducing amount of puck turnover.

Game Notes

Goaltender Match-up: Kari Lehtonen will be in net for the Stars. Semyon Varlamov will be in net for the Avalanche.

Injuries: Forward Ray Whitney (foot) is out for the Stars. Gabriel Landeskog (head), Steve Downie (knee) and David Jones are out for the Avalanche.

Series Notes

This is the first of three games. The teams split the 2011-12 series but the Avalanche ended up with a one-point advantage as one of their losses was in overtime and both wins came in regulation.

Statistical matchup

Category
Last Game Played:	LOSS 2-0 vs. Phoenix Coyotes	WIN 3-1 vs Edmonton Oilers
Game Played	9	8
Record	3-5-1	4-4-0
Streak:	Lost 1	Won 2
Home	2-1-1	3-0-0
Away	1-4-0	1-4-0
Goals/game	1.78 (29th)	2.38 (23rd)
Goals against/game	2.56 (13th)	2.50 (11th)
Shots/game	24.4 (29th)	29.2 (14th)
Shots against/game	34.1 (30th)	30.5 (20th)
Power play	14.3 (24th)	7.4 (30th)
Penalty kill	84.4 (9th)	76.2 (22nd)
Team Leaders	Stars	Avalanche
Goals	Ryder: 6	Parenteau: 6
Assists:	Eakin: 5	Duchene: 7
Points	Whitney: 6	Duchene: 9
Goaltenders	Lehtonen: 3-2-1, 2.62, .924 Bachman: 0-1-0, 1.88, .944 Nilstorp, 0-2-0, 2.70, .918	Varlamov: 3-4-0, 2.41, .919 Giguere: 1-0-0, 2.25, .933

Stars projected lineup via Mark Stepneski who writes for Stars Inside Edge:

Morrow-Benn-Jagr
Eriksson-Roy-Vincour
Smith-Eakin-Ryder
Nystrom-Fiddler-Roussel

Dillon-Robidas
Rome-Daley
Goligoski-Oleksiak

Lehtonen