Apr 1, 2013; Dallas, TX, USA; Anaheim Ducks center Saku Koivu (11) and Dallas Stars center Cody Eakin (20) fight for the puck in the face-off during the second period at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The Dallas Stars are in Anaheim, California tonight to continue a three-game series against the Ducks. Anaheim took home the first win of the three, shutting out Dallas 4-0 Monday.

The night is sure to be an interesting one, with yesterday’s trades of Jaromir Jagr to Boston, Derek Roy to Vancouver and Thomas Vincour to Colorado. Without Jagr, and Brenden Morrow who the Stars traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins last week, the Stars will likely be lacking in a reliable goal-scorer and a strong leader.

Jamie Benn and Loui Eriksson will be Stars forwards to watch tonight, with Eriksson now leading the team in goals and Benn leading the team in overall points.

The Stars have also made roster moves too and from Texas, sending Reilly Smith and Francis Wathier to Texas and recalling Tom Wandell, Alex Chaisson, Colton Sceviour and Matt Fraser from the Austin-based AHL team, which currently sits in first place in the league.

Dallas’ defense will be under just as much pressure as it was Monday, and with no defensive acquisitions after yesterday’s events, it’s unlikely there will be a significant change in performance. The game will, again, come down to the strength of Kari Lehtonen, who has faced a total of 69 shots in the last two games.

Not only will the Ducks be fully amped up after Monday’s shutout victory, the team is also launching into a five-game home stand of its own, and now trails behind the Western Conference-leading Chicago Blackhawks by only four points.

Corey Perry, Bobby Ryan and Ryan Getzlaf will be Dallas’ biggest threats tonight, who together contributed two goals and three assists in Dallas on Monday. Ryan and Getzlaf were also responsible for Anaheim’s two shoot out goals in the Ducks’ only other victory against Dallas this season.

Regardless of who is in net for the Ducks tonight, scoring for Dallas will be a significant challenge. Viktor Fasth denied each of Dallas’ 27 attempts Monday, and Jonas Hiller has only allowed two goals for Dallas this season.

The first puck drops tonight at 9 p.m. at the Honda Center in Anaheim, and will be broadcast on Fox Sports Southwest.

Mar 25, 2013; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Stars right wing Jaromir Jagr (68) and left wing Jamie Benn (14) and left wing Eric Nystrom (24) and defenseman Brenden Dillon (4) react to allowing a goal against the Minnesota Wild during the game at the American Airlines Center. The Wild defeated the Stars 7-4. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The Stars kick of the third game in a five-game home stand tonight with another battle against the Minenesota Wild. The two teams faced off Monday night in a match that ended with the Wild up 7-4 over the Stars with the final horn.

Tonight’s game could easily be much of the same. The Wild will undoubtedly be thoroughly energized and looking to stretch a seven-game win streak to eight, while the Stars are still struggling to find steady success on home ice. Tonight is also the final match between these two teams in the regular season. Another win by Minnesota would be a full sweep for the Wild this season.

Not only will Minnesota’s win streak extension fan the flame of the Wild, the final outcome of Wednesday night’s game, a come-from-behind-win, will be fresh in each players mind.

The Stars are still on the defensive struggle, and Monday’s game was proof. Turnovers at the blue line, a significant lack of presence in front of Kari Lehtonen and an inability to step in when the Big Fin was in trouble must be resolved if this team wants to make it to the playoffs.

Zach Parise will be the biggest target Dallas needs to pay significant attention to. Parise scored the only goal in the first match between the teams in January. He was also responsible for two goals and an assist in Monday night’s game.

Jaromir Jagr will undoubtedly still be on the lookout for what has become the ellusive assist to hit 1,000 for his career. Jagr was also responsible for one of Monday night’s goals.

The Stars are also very obviously still struggling with a lack of leadership since the departure of Brenden Morrow, and hopefully tonight will provide some insight into who may be in line to fill the former-captain’s skates. If no one steps up, it’s safe to say the Stars cut the head off their own snake.

More importantly, Dallas seems plagued by players who don’t seem too keen on playing their assigned positions, especially on defense. Defensemen play like forwards, leaving unassuming forwards who don’t play a physical game at the blue line to fend off breakaways and three-on-two rushes. And at the other end of the ice, Lehtonen either gets left to his own defenses or left stuck out of the net watching his defensemen flailing like fish out of water. It’s time for the rubber to meet the road with the defense on this team. With the trade deadline approaching, there’s no reason for the outlook of the Dallas Stars leadership to be any less than perform or leave.

The puck drops tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the American Airlines Center and will be broadcast on Fox Sports Southwest.