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FRISCO -- With nothing on the line in Saturday’s regular season finale against the St. Louis Blues, the Dallas Stars will take a look at some of their young players.

Center Scott Glennie, the team’s first round pick (8^th overall) in 2009, will make his NHL debut. So will defenseman Brenden Dillon, a free agent signing out of the Western Hockey League last season. Glennie, Dillon and defenseman Jordie Benn were called up from the Texas Stars on Friday afternoon.

Both Glennie and Dillon played under Stars coach Glen Gulutzan at the end of last season in the AHL.

“I only had Glennie for a short period of time, but Scotty has made big strides in the American Hockey League,” Gulutzan said. “Whenever you get young guys like that who on two or three nights over a two or three week span that they are the best player on the ice, that’s an encouraging sign in that league. And when it’s happening more and more frequently, then it’s a real good thing and that’s what Scotty has done. Brenden has done that too. Anytime that happens at that level you know you have a player on the up.”

Glennie got off to a slow start this season after he suffered a concussion during Dallas’ training camp in Prince Edward Island. But he’s picked up the pace as the season has moved along and has 37 points (12 goals, 25 assists) in 68 games this season.

Dillon, who had impressive showing last season when he made the jump from junior to the AHL, has 26 points (5 goals, 21 assists) in 72 games.

“With Brenden you are going to see a big, good skating defenseman that can move the puck,” Gulutzan said. “With Glennie you are going to see skilled guy who can move and skate.”

Forward Reilly Smith, who was signed to an entry-level contract last month and made the jump to the NHL straight from college, will also be in the lineup for the Stars on Saturday. Smith has already played two games for the Stars, registering no points.

“Even though I played only four minutes (in the first game), I was soaking in every minute of it,” Smith said. “Just being in Edmonton with so much history around you, just being a small part of it was a great experience. Having my first NHL game there was absolutely phenomenal. We got the win and I was able to get my feet wet for the next game in Vancouver.”

Smith finished second in the nation in goal scoring, notching 30 in 39 games with Miami University this season.

“With Reilly you’re going to see a really skilled player coming out college that has the ability to score,” said Gulutzan. “It will be interesting to see those guys play with good players.”

The Stars will sit some veteran players who have been battling injuries, players Gulutzan said have been receiving injections to get through games and practices. Players who could sit out tomorrow include Steve Ott, Radek Dvorak, Steve Ott, Mike Ribeiro and Brenden Morrow. Mark Fistric, who is another player who has been battling injuries, hurt his groin in Thursday’s game and is out for Saturday.

“I talked to every injured player that played and they all want to play the last game, whether they have to take a needle or not to get through, to numb some of the issues there,” said Gulutzan. “They all want to play, but the reality is we don’t want to put them through that. We want to take a look at some of our young guys.”

Richard Bachman will get the start in goal for the Stars.

Hobey Baker winner announced

Dallas native and Dallas Stars prospect Austin Smith was one of three finalists for the Hobey Baker Award, which goes to the top player in college hockey. The winner of this year’s award, announced Friday evening, is Jack Connolly from the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

Connolly finished second in the nation in scoring with 60 points (20, 40 assists) in 41 games. Smith led the nation in goal scoring with 36 in 39 games and finished 3rd in points with 57.

FRISCO, Texas -- Stars fans will get a little glimpse of the future in Saturday night's regular-season finale against the St. Louis Blues at American Airlines Center. Right wing Scott Glennie, the team's first-round pick (eighth overall) in 2009, will make his NHL debut.

So will defenseman Brenden Dillon, a free-agent pick out of the WHL last year. Both those players have spent the season with the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League.

The 21-year-old Glennie has 12 goals and 25 assists in 68 games this season. Glennie got off to a slow start after suffering a concussion in training camp, but he's picked up 28 points (nine goals, 19 assists) over the past 43 games.

Dillon, who is also 21, is a big, mobile, two-way defenseman. He has 26 points (five goals, 21 assists) in 72 games this season.

Reilly Smith, the third-round pick (69th overall) from 2009, will be back in the lineup. Smith, who signed an entry-level contract with Dallas last month, has already appeared in two games with the Stars.

Richard Bachman will get the start in goal.

The Stars will sit some veterans who have been battling through injuries as the Stars battled to get into the playoffs.

"We've had guys taking injections here to get through a game. These same players can get through a practice without it. You won't see a couple of those guys tomorrow," Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said. "Most likely Steve Ott, depending on how he is tomorrow. Radek Dvorak, you guys all know. Guys that you probably didn't know would be [Stephane] Robidas and [Mike] Ribeiro that have been playing injured. Those guys and possibly Brenden [Morrow]. At the end the day, you don't want to give them the needle to play."

Mark Fistric, who injured his groin in Thursday night's game at Nashville, was also getting injections to play prior to last night's injury. He'll be out for Saturday's game.

The Dallas Stars’ quest for a playoff spot ended in Nashville on Thursday night. A 2-0 loss to the Predators mathematically eliminated the Stars from the playoff race.

The Stars now have missed the playoffs four straight seasons, the longest postseason drought in franchise history.

"It's frustrating, disappointing. It doesn’t get easier,” Stars captain Brenden Morrow said. “You always want to win that last one and give our fans the opportunity to see playoff hockey again. They deserve it. Ever since Mr. [Tom] Gaglardi took over [as owner], they’ve been out to support us and root us on. It would have been nice to give them the opportunity to see some playoff hockey.”

Needing a win to keep their hopes alive, the Stars played the Predators to a scoreless tie through the first two periods. But Nashville got that key first goal with 15:32 left in the game when Patric Hornqvist came out from behind the net and put a shot on net and defenseman Francis Bouillon put the rebound past Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen.

“Good things happen when you take it to the net,” Hornqvist said.

Hornqvist sealed the win for the Predators when he was able to get to the rebound of a Brandon Yip shot and give Nashville a 2-0 lead with just 2:00 left in the game.

The Stars pulled Lehtonen a short time later for the extra attacker and had a late power play but weren’t able to get a puck past Predators goalie Pekka Rinne, who stopped 28 shots for his fifth shutout of the season and his league-best 43rd win.

"The guys did a great job,” Rinne said. “They had a good push there at the end but we did a really good job fiveonfive and on the penalty kill. It was just a solid game. We didn’t do anything out of the ordinary."

It was the second time in the past three games the Stars were shut out.

“It was a good hockey game; we just didn’t get the result we wanted,” Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said. “We played hard, and I liked the way we competed. It was a one-goal hockey game, who could manage to get that one in, and they managed to do so.”

Nashville moved one point ahead of Detroit for the fourth seed in the Western Conference. The Stars, who have lost eight of their past 11 games, wrap up their season Saturday against St. Louis and then will have another long offseason.

“It’s tough,” Stars forward Steve Ott said. “It’s never fun and it’s the worst feeling for a professional hockey player.”

Notes: Fistric injured

*Stars defenseman Mark Fistric left the game in the second period with a groin injury and did not return.

*The Stars were 0-4 on the power play and are now 1-25 on the power play over the past eight games. For the season, the Stars are 30^th in the league at 13.8 percent.

*The Stars did change things up on the power play, loading up the first unit with a four-forward look of Loui Eriksson, Jamie Benn, Michael Ryder and Mike Ribeiro, along with defenseman Stephane Robidas.

*Right wing Radek Dvorak returned to the lineup after missing the previous five games with an ankle injury.

*Scratches for the Stars were Jake Dowell, Tomas Vincour, Toby Petersen, Reilly Smith and Adam Pardy.

Here are some postgame quotes after the Dallas Stars 2-0 lost to the Nashville Predators Thursday night, eliminating them from the playoff race.

Stars coach Glen Gulutzan

“It was a good hockey game; we just didn’t get the result we wanted. We played hard and I liked the way we competed. It was a one-goal hockey game, who could manage to get that one in, and they managed to do so.”

Stars captain Brenden Morrow

"It's frustrating, disappointing. Kind of a repeat of Groundhog Day of last year. It doesn’t get easier. You always want to win that last one and give our fans the opportunity to see playoff hockey again. They deserve it. Ever since Mr. Gaglardi took over (as owner) they’ve been out to support us and root us on. It would have been nice to give them the opportunity to see some playoff hockey.”

Stars forward Steve Ott

“It’s tough because obviously we’re out. It’s never fun and it’s the worst feeling for a professional hockey player.”

Stars coach Glen Gulutzan juggled his lines during Tuesday's loss to San Jose, and he'll roll out different lines for Thursday's game in Nashville.

Brenden Morrow will move to a line with Mike Ribeiro and Loui Eriksson. Michael Ryder will now play with Jamie Benn and Steve Ott.

"(Morrow) is feeling a lot better here lately, the last couple games," Gulutzan said. "We'll get a change and try to spread out some of the offense with Benny and Rydes there. We're going to play a real team game."

Right wing Radek Dvorak will be back in the lineup after missing the last five games with an ankle injury. He'll be back on a line with Eric Nystrom and Vernon Fiddler.

Kari Lehtonen is in goal for the Stars. Pekka Rinne is the likely starter in goal for the Predators.

FRISCO, Texas -- Tuesday’s game between the Dallas Stars and the San Jose Sharks is big. There are only so many ways you can say it, but the Stars found a variety of ways to sum it up after Monday’s practice in Frisco.

“It’s our biggest game for sure,” Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said. “We’ve said for a long time that every game is big, but this game either puts us in the driver’s seat or it takes us out of it. It’s a huge game.”

“It’s as big of a do-or-die as you’re going to find,” said Stars captain Brenden Morrow. “There’s been a lot of history with these two teams in the past, and we're both scratching and clawing to get to the postseason, so there is a lot on the line tomorrow night.”

“We have our chance to control our destiny,” Stars forward Steve Ott said. “That’s the biggest thing we can take out of tomorrow night. The chance is in our hands. We need to find a way to grab big points. We knew it was going to be tight two months ago, and the reality now is we have a chance to control it.”

The Stars and Sharks enter the game separated by one point in the Western Conference. The Sharks currently sit in the eighth and final playoff spot. The Stars are in ninth place. Tuesday’s winner is in a playoff spot with two games remaining. The loser faces an uphill climb. How big a climb will depend on whether the loss is in regulation or in overtime or is a shootout. And how many points Phoenix picks up Tuesday night against Columbus will be key as well. But however it happens, a loss would be a big blow.

For the Stars, though, the path to success is pretty simple. With three games left there are six points available to them. Get those six points and they are in the playoffs.

“If you look at the standings, everything is in our control. At this point, with three games left, that’s all you can ask, is to have control,” Gulutzan said. “You’ve got to win the games to get in, so it’s just nice to know that if we do, then we control our own destiny.”

But to maintain control of that destiny they’ll need to beat the Sharks, who won game one of the home-and-home series 3-0 Saturday night in San Jose. The Sharks scored 58 seconds into the game and had a 2-0 lead by the first intermission. The Stars see a strong start as key Tuesday night.

“There’s going to be a lot of focus on that first shift, that first ten minutes like they did in their rink,” Morrow said. “They came at us hard in 10-12 minutes, and we’ve got to focus on that start.”

The Sharks have won four of five against the Stars, but three of those wins, including Saturday’s, came with the Stars playing on the second night of a back-to-back, not exactly their strong suit this season. The Stars are hoping a couple of days between games will bring a different result.

“The rest is obviously key,” Ott said. “We played a highly emotional game in Vancouver, it was a highly emotional road trip and then you go into San Jose, and our back-to-back record has been terrible all year. That’s obviously a cause of concern in the last game, but to have that extra rest and let the emotions settle and to come in with an energized team again, I truthfully think it will make a big difference.”

It has to, or the Stars will no longer control their destiny.

In a tight playoff race and needing points, the Dallas Stars couldn’t find a way to get any in Vancouver on Friday night, falling 5-2 to the Canucks. But they’ve got to put the loss behind them and move on to San Jose, where they open a crucial home-and-home series with the Sharks Saturday night.

“We need to find a way to regroup. We have a big home-and-home against San Jose. We’ve got to focus on that,” said Stars forward Steve Ott. “We’ve got to kick the loss as soon as we can and move on to the next game because there are only four games left.”

Friday’s loss in Vancouver knocked the Stars out of first place in the Pacific Division and third in the Western Conference to seventh in the West. They trail Los Angeles, a 4-1 winner in Edmonton Friday night, by one point in the division and lead the ninth place San Jose Sharks by one point.

“We have a chance to control our own destiny and that starts tomorrow,” said Stars forward Jake Dowell. “We’ll be glum about this tonight, but tomorrow we’ll get back at it.”

The Stars had a chance to enhance their destiny Friday night, but Vancouver Canucks goaltender Cory Schneider wouldn’t have any part of it. He turned in a stellar performance, stopping 28 of 30 shots to lead Vancouver past the Stars.

“I thought we played well. We had chances. Five-on-five I thought we were going real good, but once again (Cory Schneider) was real good and made good saves on us,” said Stars coach Glen Gulutzan. “You run it into that every now and then. Goalies win you games and our goalie has won us enough this year. I thought it was a pretty equal game, but Schneider withstood the test. … We played well. We just didn’t get anything to go and we made a few mistakes that cost us. You can’t do that against Vancouver.”

The Stars played a strong first period, outshooting the Canucks 13-8. But the Canucks scored the only goal of the period. Jannik Hansen set up Chris Higgins, who beat Kari Lehtonen with a quick shot from the slot at the 6:43 mark.

Cory Schneider, who got the start in goal because Roberto Luongo had some stiffness in his neck, was sharp in the first, making several nice stops to keep the Stars off the scoreboard.

The Stars drew even early in the second period, when Ott scored off the rebound of a Jamie Benn shot at the 3:16 mark.

But Schneider kept the Stars from taking the lead with some big saves while the Stars were shorthanded. He stopped Ott busting in on net and then made a spectacular toe save on Loui Eriksson during Vancouver’s second power play of the game.

He then stopped Vernon Fiddler’s point blank shorthanded attempt during the Canucks third power play of the game. But the Canucks ended up taking the lead on that power play when Sami Salo scored on a blast from the right point at the 11:01 mark. A little more than five minutes later, Vancouver defenseman Andrew Alberts took a pass from Henrik Sedin and scored from the left circle to make it a 3-1 game.

“That’s why the goaltender is there. He was able to keep us in the game until we were able to score a couple of goals,” said Canucks coach Alain Vigneault.

The Canucks extended their lead to 4-1 at 9:06 of the third when Sedin set up Alex Burrows, who scored from close range. A short time later the Stars pulled goalie Kari Lehtonen, to rest his for Saturday’s crucial game in San Jose.

Richard Bachman took over in net and Vancouver’s Maxim Lapierre cashed in on a wide open look from the slot to make it a 5-1 game.

Dowell scored a late goal to make it a 5-2 final.

Notes

*The Stars ended the season 14-6-0 against the Northwest Division.

*Stars forward Reilly Smith, playing in his second NHL game, played 7:47 and had one shot on goal. He started the game on the fourth line, but in the third period was bumped up to the second line with Jamie Benn and Steve Ott.

*Mark Fistric (abdominal strain), Radek Dvorak (ankle) and Eric Nystrom (leg) were out for Dallas.

*The Stars were 0-1 on the power play and 2-3 on the penalty kill in the game.

Here are some postgame quotes following the Dallas Stars’ 5-2 loss at Vancouver on Friday night.

Stars coach Glen Gulutzan

“I thought we played well. We had chances. Five-on-five I thought we were going real good, but once again (Cory Schneider) was real good and made good saves on us. In the second the save on Loui Eriksson, could have made it 2-1. You run it into that every now and then. Goalies win you games and our goalie has won us enough this year. I thought it was a pretty equal game, but Schneider withstood the test."

"We played well. We just didn’t get anything to go and we made a few mistakes that cost us. You can’t do that against Vancouver."

Stars captain Brenden Morrow on the loss

“It’s big. It just puts a little more pressure on that one tomorrow and they only get bigger after that. We came on this road and lost one in Calgary and lost one here. It just puts more pressure and desperation on those next games.”

“We’ve got to try to find something positive because we are going right back at it tomorrow. You’ve got to slap yourself in the butt and then park it and try to get ready for that next game in less than 24 hours.”

Stars forward Steve forward Steve Ott

“We need to find a way to regroup. We have a big home-and-home against San Jose. We’ve got to focus on that. We’ve got to kick the loss as soon as we can and move on to the next game because there are only four games left.”

Needing wins or at least points in a tight playoff race, the Dallas Stars found a way to get neither Monday night in Calgary. Penalties and turnovers proved costly as the Stars fell 5-4 to the Flames.

The Stars, who had 1-0 and 2-1 leads in the game, gave up four goals in the second period, one off a turnover and two off Calgary power plays.

“We gave them what happened tonight. We had the game, we were in a good spot at 2-1, then we make an error and then we take penalty after penalty until they get a two goal lead. Dumb, dumb penalties,” said Stars coach Glen Gulutzan. “You’ve got to learn how to win and the way we went about it doesn’t look like we want to win. It really doesn’t. They’ve got to figure that out for themselves.”

The Stars’ penalty kill, which has been stellar as of late, gave up three power play goals on six shorthanded opportunities. Calgary scored twice on the power play late in the second to turn a 3-3 game into a 5-3 Calgary lead.

“We got into penalty trouble and their power play beat us tonight,” said Stars defenseman Sheldon Souray. “We weren’t as disciplined as we have been. We talked about that and we just got a little bit away from that. We just let them get on the power play way too much tonight.”

The loss, their fourth in the last six games, dropped the Stars to seventh place in the Western Conference standings. They are one point out of the first in the Pacific Division and the third seed in the West, but still just one point ahead of ninth place.

“It’s a tough game to lose. We definitely needed these two points,” said Stars forward Jamie Benn. “We had too many turnovers and too many costly penalties. We shoot ourselves in the foot tonight.”

Benn gave the Stars a 1-0 lead 24 seconds into the game, beating Flames goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff with a shot from beyond the left circle off the rush. Calgary tied with an Olli Jokinen power play goal at 6:53 of the first.

Benn scored 44 seconds into the second period on a shot from the slot off the rush to put the Stars up 2-1, and after the next shift, with his team looking out of sync, Flames coach Brent Sutter called a timeout.

“Do you really want to know,” Sutter said when asked what he said during the timeout. “It was just get back to settling down and playing our game.”

Midway through the period, the Flames scored two goals in 45 seconds apart to take a 3-2 lead. The first one came at the 9:16 mark when Stars forward Mike Ribeiro’s pass into the slot in the Dallas zone went right onto the stick of Calgary’s Blake Comeau, who ripped the puck past Kari Lehtonen to tie the game.

At the 10:01 mark Mike Cammalleri scored on the rebound of Anton Babchuk shot after the Flames had won an offensive zone draw.

Ribeiro scored off a rebound with 5:31 left in the second to tie the game at 3-3, but Stars defenseman Stephane Robidas was called for tripping 30 seconds later and Calgary scored just before Robidas came out of the penalty box. Mark Giordano scored off a blast form the point with 3:02 left in the period.

Ninety seconds later, Stars forward Steve Ott was called for tripping and the Flames struck again on the power play to make it a 5-3 game. Cammalleri set up Alex Tanguay, who scored from the slot.

Philip Larsen scored on the power play for the Stars early in the third, but Dallas could never get the equalizer.

The Flames snapped a five-game winless streak and pulled to within two points of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

“If you look at the standings we are definitely not out of it,” said Giordano. “We got a big win tonight, and we’ll go game-by-game here.”

Notes

*The Stars lost left wing Eric Nystrom in the first period after he was cut on the leg. He is day-to-day, according to Stars coach Glen Gulutzan.

*Stars right wing Radek Dvorak missed Monday’s game due to a sore ankle.

*Tom Wandell, Toby Petersen, Jordie Benn and Reilly Smith were scratched for Dallas.

*The Stars allowed three power play goals in a game for the second time this season. They allowed three in a 5-4 shootout win at Los Angeles on January 12.

*Stars forward Jamie Benn has eight goals in the last ten games.

FRISCO -- If these final games of the season are like the playoff series to get into the postseason, then these next two games are a series within a series for the Dallas Stars.

The Stars play a home-and-home with the Calgary Flames, a team they are fighting for a playoff spot. The Stars currently sit in in the eighth and final spot while the Flames are in eleventh place, just two points back.

Both teams come into the games - Saturday in Dallas and then Monday in Calgary - on a bit of a slide. The Stars have won just once in their last four games. The Flames are winless in four games (0-1-3).

These are two big games with big points at stake.

“They’re going to be a desperate team as are we. We’ve got to get points, too. With the back-to-back games I am sure it is going to be intense,” said Stars defenseman Alex Goligoski. “It seems like everyone we are playing is jockeying for position. These are the kinds of games that we can thrive in. Looking forward to it.”

The Flames’ situation seems a little more desperate right now. They have fewer games remaining than several of the teams they are chasing, and are on the outside looking in. But the Stars see themselves equally high on the desperation meter. Failing to gain points means the potential of losing ground.

“We’re there, too. We understand where we are at,” said Stars coach Glen Gulutzan.

The Stars have eight games left over the next two weeks that will determine whether they make the postseason tournament. And they know chances are it will probably come down to those final few games, perhaps the final day of the season. But the Stars don’t want to look too far ahead, but keep the focus on the next task at hand, and that is getting two points against Calgary on Saturday.

“We talked today with the group that every game, every day is a new day, every year is a new year. If we have to play 82 to get in then we’re prepared to play 82,” Gulutzan said. “We’re ready to go to April 7 to get in, but it is one day at a time until then. We’re not going to get in if we beat Calgary tomorrow. We have to play until April 7 and we’re prepared to work until then. Do the players sense the situation? Certainly they do, but we have to stay focused on what’s right in front of our face, and that is Calgary tomorrow.”

This home-and-home with the Flames will be the first of two the Stars have against teams they are battling for a playoff spot. They have another against the San Jose Sharks next week.

“With eight games left in the season it is ramped up to a playoff level now, every team battling,” said Stars forward Steve Ott. “You’ve seen how much the standings changed overnight. For us to have these home-and-homes is a great opportunity to put a lot of valuable points on the line either way and you have a chance to push ahead of teams by doing so.”

FRISCO, Texas -- The Dallas Stars held a short, fast-paced practice this afternoon as they prepare for Saturday afternoon's game against the Calgary Flames at American Airlines Center.

The the Stars have been holding optional skates during off days recently to conserve energy, but today was not a full optional. Just about everybody was out there.

"No morning skate tomorrow. Most of these guys like to skate 24 hours before. They don't like to go too long without skating," Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said.

Mike Ribeiro, Stephane Robidas and Steve Ott were among the guys off the ice for maintenance days.

"Lot of minutes. Couple of other guys decided they'd rather skate." Gulutzan said. "A few guys had maintenance days, but they needed it."

Kari Lehtonen, who did skate today, will get the start in goal tomorrow against the Flames.

Jack Campbell expect to make pro debut tonight

Stars goaltending prospect Jack Campbell is expected to make his professional debut tonight for the Texas Stars, who play at Oklahoma City. Campbell, Dallas' first round pick (11th overall) in 2010, was assigned to Texas of the American Hockey League earlier this week.

Forward Austin Smith (fifth round/2007) also is expected to make his pro debut with Texas tonight. Smith, the Dallas native who just wrapped up his college career, led the nation in goal scoring at Colgate and is among the 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award, which goes to the top player in college hockey.

EULESS -- The Western Conference playoff race has gotten tighter while the Dallas Stars have been off this weekend.

They still sit in first place in the Pacific Division and third in the Western Conference, but their lead is down to points percentage over Phoenix in the division, and San Jose can pass both those teams with a win Monday night in Anaheim.

The Stars will get back to the business of trying to collect points Tuesday, when they host Phoenix at American Airlines Center in a game that will kick off the final ten games of the season. Ten games that will decide if the Stars make the playoffs for the first time since 2008. Basically, these are the playoffs before the playoffs.

“You can’t look ahead too far or too much at the big picture, you’ve to look at it one game at a time. You’ve got to treat it like a playoff series,” said Stars defenseman Stephane Robidas. “You win a game, you’re happy with it and you move on. You lose a game, you move on. To me, that’s the main thing, we’ve got to take care of our business.”

At this time of the season most teams focus on their game and what they are doing, and that’s what the Stars want to do. Sure, they scout the opponents, but the focus is on what they need to do to win hockey games.

“We’ve been worrying about other teams as we go over the other aspects of their games, but we’ve been keying on each other in here and on the valuable things that make us hard to play against and things that are making us able to win,” said Stars forward Steve Ott.

The Stars’ recent run that included a six-game winning streak and an 11-game points streak, help put them where they are in the standings, but they aren’t operating in a vacuum. There’s a lot going around them. Other teams winning too and their heels in the standings, but being chased is better than chasing.

“The good thing is teams are chasing us. We are not chasing any teams,” said Robidas. “We’re still third in the conference, that’s the positive sign. We’re in control. We just have to win our games.”

And five of those final ten games will come against those teams that the Stars are directly battling both in the Pacific Division race and for a spot in the Western Conference playoff spot. They play Phoenix once, San Jose twice and Calgary twice.

And although teams like San Jose, Los Angles and Colorado have gotten hot recently and closed the gap on the Stars, Stars coach Gulutzan said that’s not a bad thing. Everybody is in the same boat – they’ve got to get the job done and do it against each other over these final three weeks of the season to make it to the postseason tournament.

“There are more teams in the soup and the pressure is going to go on everybody,” said Gulutzan. “Colorado plays Calgary twice, we play Calgary twice, we play San Jose twice, so everyone is in the fire. Everyone is in the fire, so the teams that get in are going to deserve to get in.”

Keeping pucks out of their net has been a key factor in the Dallas Stars’ current run, and a big help in that department has been the team’s penalty kill. The Stars have allowed just one opposition power play goal during the team’s 9-0-1 run that has pushed them to the top of the Pacific Division and the third seed in the Western Conference.

The Stars have killed 30 of 31 (96.8%) opposition power plays during those ten games, helping them climb from 18th in the league in penalty killing three weeks ago (81.6 percent) to 10th in the NHL (83.2 percent) after going 4-4 in Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Anaheim.

“That’s just commitment from those guys,” said Stars coach Glen Gulutzan. “Vernon Fiddler, Radek Dvorak, Adam Burish, Eric Nystrom and Mike Ribeiro’s killing a lot. Steve Ott and Loui Eriksson have been good. All our D have chipped in.

“Guys have just dug in. (Assistant coach) Paul Jerrard has kind of taken over in the second half and done a heck of a job with the PK. … The players have dug in, they block shots and the goaltending has been spectacular.”

During those 31 power plays over the last 10 games, goalies Kari Lehtonen and Richard Bachman have combined to stop 50 of 51 shots for a shorthanded save percentage of .980. Lehtonen has stopped 45 of 46 shorthanded shots over his eight starts during the run.

“We’re trying to keep a little more pressure early on. I think earlier in the season they were coming into our zone too easy. I think we’ve been able to clear the pucks much better,” Lehtonen said. “Just giving more pressure I think. That just takes their time away, and they are not able to set up and make nice plays. That makes it more simple for me, too.”

And that one power play goal the Stars have allowed over the last ten games was on a five-on-three situation against Minnesota.

They’ve gone ten straight games without allowing a five-on-four power play goal. The last five-on-four power play goal they’ve allowed was in the February 19 game against Nashville, which happens to be the last time they lost in regulation.

“I think we're pretty robotic now. We're all doing the same thing,” Ott said of the team’s work on the penalty kill. “We have a strong focus on faceoffs in our own end to know what we’re doing. Our preparation I think is a lot better now. It just seems like everybody's continuing to roll. We know how long to stay out there. We know how to do the right plays. I think all those things are adding up to an easier penalty kill.”

DALLAS -- Stars captain Brenden Morrow made an impact in his first game in more than a month, scoring a power play goal as the Dallas Stars ran their winning streak to five games and their points streak to ten with a 2-0 win over the Anaheim Ducks Saturday night at American Airlines Center.

“It feels good. I was a little nervous to make sure it didn’t screw things up with the way the team was playing and rolling,” Morrow said. “Kari (Lehtonen) made sure I didn’t do that sitting in the penalty box three times.”

Morrow, who had missed the last 18 games with back and neck issues, played 16:34, registering three hits and picking up six minutes in penalties during the game. He also provided an emotional boost.

“It’s huge,” said Stars forward Steve Ott. “He’s our leader, he’s our captain.”

The Stars got another stellar performance from Lehtonen, who stopped all 21 shots he faced for his third shutout of the season and his second in the last eight games. Lehtonen is 7-0-1 with a 1.45 goals against average and .950 save percentage in his last eight starts.

“The last three weeks we’ve been playing real solid and everybody has been helping me out. I’ve been trying to do the same. It’s just fun when you can get wins,” Lehtonen said. “With every win it gets more exciting. Guys are smiling and working hard. It’s just a great time of the year to be in it.”

The Stars were determined to get Lehtonen the shutout after the Stars goalie lost a shutout bid with 30 seconds remaining in a game at Edmonton last week.

“The best part of my day was when that buzzer rang and he got the shutout,” Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said. “That guy deserves that and we owed him one.”

The victory kept the Stars three points ahead of Phoenix in the race for first place in the Pacific Division and the third seed in the Western Conference. The Stars have a six point lead over the ninth place spot in the standings.

Specials teams were key for the Stars, who were 1-4 on the power play and 4-4 on the penalty kill. During their ten game points streak the Stars have killed off 30 of 31 opposition power plays.

“That’s just commitment from those guys,” Gulutzan said of the Stars penalty killers.

The Stars scored at 2:37 of the second period, just one second after a 35 second five-on-three power play expired. Jamie Benn sent a pass across the crease to Morrow, who put the puck into the open side of the net.

“Those four-footers with an empty cage are pretty easy to hit some times," Morrow said. "Jamie Benn made a great play to hit me backdoor with an empty net.”

The Ducks had some power play time in the second period, but couldn’t cash in. One of those penalties was a boarding minor on Dallas defenseman Stephane Robidas for a hit on Ducks forward Corey Perry, who played a couple shifts after the hit but eventually left the game. The hit didn’t sit well with Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau.

“If that wasn’t a five-minute penalty then I don’t know what is,” Boudreau said. “He’s in the most vulnerable position, head first going into the boards and he’s getting a shove. Whether it’s a big shove or a little shove, it’s a shove of a defenseless person into the boards. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard that and you put your best player out in a game we had to win.”

The loss was a huge blow to the Ducks, whose chances of making the playoffs took another hit. They are eight points out of the final playoff spot with just 13 games remaining in the season.

“We are running out of time,” Boudreau said. “It’s not fun when you’re running out of time but it wasn’t for lack of effort. They’re giving it everything they’ve got right to the end and we’re really proud of their effort right now."

Michael Ryder rounded out the scoring for Dallas with an empty net goal with 46 seconds remaining to make it a 2-0 final and keep the Stars the hottest team in the NHL.

Notes

*Stars forward Radek Dvorak left the game in the third period with an ankle injury and did not return. There was no news on his status moving forward.

*Stars defenseman Sheldon Souray missed Saturday’s game with a lower body injury.

*Forwards Jake Dowell, Ryan Garbutt and Toby Petersen were healthy scratches for the Stars.

*Michael Ryder’s goal was his 30^th of the season, tying his career high.

*Saturday’s attendance was 18.228

The Dallas Stars ran their winning streak to five games and their points streak to 10 games (9-0-1) with a 2-0 victory over the Anaheim Ducks at American Airlines Center Saturday night. Kari Lehtonen stopped 21 shots for his third shutout of the season and Brenden Morrow and Michael Ryder scored goals.

First period

The Ducks had an 8-6 shots advantage in the first period, but the Stars had some good chances. An Adam Burish backhand chance was turned away by Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller. The Anaheim goalie also made a nice stop on a point blank chance by Loui Eriksson. Steve Ott had a great chance from the left circle late in the period, but his shot hit the post.

There were no power plays in the period.

Second period

Special teams were big in the second period. The Stars went 1-3 on the power play and the Ducks went -0-2.

The Stars opened the scoring early in the second period, taking advantage of back-to-back penalties on the Ducks. Just as a 35 second five-on-three power play expired, Jamie Benn sent a cross-crease pass to Brenden Morrow who put the puck into the open side of the net at the 2:37 mark.

The Ducks had a couple of power play chances, but were unable to take advantage.

The Stars outshot the Ducks 9-6 in the second and had a 15-14 advantage going into the second intermission.

Third period

The Ducks had their third power play chance of the night five minutes into the third, but got only one shot on goal.

Lehtonen had a nice stop later in the period on a Niklas Hagman close range bid with the two teams playing at even-strength.

The Ducks went on a fourth power play with 5:16 remaining, but it lasted only five seconds as Teemu Selanne was called for holding on the right off the faceoff.

Hiller kept the Ducks close, making great stops on Loui Eriksson, Vernon Fiddler and Eric Nystrom, but with Hiller out for the extra attacker Michael Ryder scored into the empty net with 46 seconds left to give the Stars a 2-0 lead.

Stars lineup

Eriksson-Ribeiro-Ryder
Morrow-Benn-Ott
Nystrom-Fiddler-Dvorak
Vincour-Wandell-Burish

Fistric-Robidas
Goligoski-Larsen
Daley-Pardy

Lehtonen (starter)
Bachman

Injured: Souray (lower body)
Scratched: Petersen, Dowell, Garbutt