PREVIEW 7:45 AM CST

Looking for their fifth straight win and ninth in the last 10 games, the Dallas Stars (37-26-5) face a potential "trap game" tonight when they take on the Anaheim Ducks (29-29-10) at the American Airlines Center. The game starts at 7 PM CST and will be broadcast on TXA 21.

This is the sixth and final meeting between the Pacific Division teams this season. The Stars have won four of the first five games, all in regulation. With a three-point lead over Phoenix and five-point edge over San Jose in the battle for the third seed in the Western Conference playoff race, this Stars need to be vigilant tonight while playing the only team in the Pacific that is out of the hunt for a postseason berth.

The Stars have been receiving word class goaltending from Kari Lehtonen in recent weeks.
They have also gotten huge performances of late from its core of key players: Jamie Benn, Loui Eriksson, Michael Ryder, Mike Ribeiro and Stephane Robidas have all stepped up when the team has needed them the most. In addition, youngsters such as Tomas Vincour and Philip Larsen have delivered in the clutch and the role players have often outplayed their counterparts on other teams until the skill players have been able to break through.

Nevertheless, it is not advisable for the team to rely on its goalie to make 50 saves (Lehtonen's combined regulation, overtime and shootout total in Thursday's win over the Sharks) or playing 3rd period comeback hockey as it did against both Vancouver and San Jose. That is an unsustainable way of winning, but the Stars are nothing if not dogged and resilient.

Until last game, Dallas benefited from a run of injury-free games. The club has shown over this season and last that it can perform at a playoff-caliber level -- even a first-place in the Pacific Division level -- for extended periods when the lineup is close to fully intact. However, when injuries mount and the depth gets tested, the Stars have had problems keeping up with the pack. Dallas got some good news on the injury front yesterday.

Team captain Brenden Morrow has missed the last 18 games with upper body injuries that have affected his neck, shoulders and upper back. The team finally took him off of injured reserve yesterday, and there is a chance he could play tonight. Steve Ott missed Thursday's game due to back spasms. He is questionable for tonight.

Top-pairing defenseman Sheldon Souray left Thursday's game with a lower-body injury. He is out tonight, but is day-to-day beyond that. Mark Fistric has a sore hand and also left Thursday's game early with the injury but should be available for tonight's game.

Anaheim got buried early this season by a terrible start. They went on a run under new coach Bruce Boudreau that brought the club back to the brink of playoff contention but have fallen off again in recent weeks. The club is 5-5 over its last 10 games, and is coming off a 3-1 loss to St. Louis.

Future Hall of Famer Teemu Selänne has been a longtime nemesis for the Stars, and leads the team in scoring (5 points) in this year's season series. Meanwhile, last season's Hart Trophy winner, Corey Perry, has four goals in his last four games heading into tonight. Perry will not match last year's 50-goal season but has at least a shot at a 40-goal campaign (he currently has 34 tallies) if he stays hot over the remainder of the year.

The Ducks are relatively healthy. Only Nick Bonino (lower body) is questionable for tonight and backup goalie Dan Ellis (groin) is out.

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