via Mike G. Morreale of NHL.com,

STARS (9-11-5) at RED WINGS (14-6-5)

TV: NHLN-US; FS-SW, FS-D

Season series: The Dallas Stars and Detroit Red Wings split their two-game series in 2013-14. The Red Wings are 108-97-34-5 in 244 regular-season games against the Stars franchise. Detroit center Pavel Datsyuk has 15 goals and 42 points in 38 games against the Stars, and Henrik Zetterberg has 11 goals and 44 points in 32 games. Stars captain Jamie Benn has three goals and 11 points in 14 games against the Red Wings.

Stars team scope: After playing well in three straight victories on home ice, the Stars dropped to 0-2-1 while allowing 15 goals in the past three games. The most recent loss came Tuesday, a 5-3 setback against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre. Right wing Patrick Eaves sustained an ankle injury after blocking a shot during the game and was placed on injured reserve. Dallas coach Lindy Ruff confirmed to the Dallas Morning News after practice on Wednesday that Eaves sustained a broken bone on the play. The coach said Eaves could miss 4-6 weeks. General manager Jim Nill, who placed goaltender Anders Lindback (0-5-0) on waivers Wednesday, recalled forward Curtis McKenzie and goaltender Jussi Rynnas from the team's American Hockey League affiliate in Texas. "We've got to get it in our heads that it has to go straight up the ice, and that's the way to win hockey games," Benn said after the loss to the Maple Leafs. "We've got to simplify our game and play a simple road game and find a way to win."

Red Wings team scope: The Red Wings had their four-game winning streak snapped Tuesday with a 4-3 loss to the Florida Panthers at Joe Louis Arena. The Red Wings were outworked in the loss, something that doesn't happen very often. Zetterberg, who took 11 shots, was disappointed with the effort. "I felt like the power outage was in our brains there for a bit," he told the Detroit Free Press. "We didn't look good. We looked like we didn't want those two points." A power outage in downtown Detroit on Tuesday forced the cancellation of the morning skates for both teams, but electricity was restored in the afternoon and the game began on time. The team did not practice Wednesday. "We were no good, and that includes the coaches, because our team wasn't ready," coach Mike Babcock told the Detroit Free Press. "[Florida] played hard, they were organized, they were structured, they played better than us."

via Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News,

Storyline
Dallas has allowed 15 goals in the last three games and has fallen to last in the NHL in goals-against average. It needs to make a stand and get its defensive game in line — and that’s from the goaltender through the forwards.

Key match-up
Henrik Zetterberg vs. Trevor Daley

Zetterberg in 37 games against the Stars has 44 points (11 goals, 33 assists) and is an astounding plus-25. Daley is struggling and ranked 738th in the NHL at minus-15

Key number: 101
Power-play attempts for the Red Wings, most in the NHL. The Stars, meanwhile, have handed out the third-most power-play opportunities, 91.

Notable
Curtis McKenzie was recalled from the AHL by the Stars on Wednesday to replace the injured Patrick Eaves but could be a healthy scratch against the Red Wings. … Dallas (9-11-4) lost a 5-3 game Tuesday in Toronto and is 3-2-1 in its last six games. … Detroit (14-6-5) lost a 4-3 game Tuesday to Florida and is 4-1-0 in its last five games. … The Stars are 2-6-1 in their last nine meetings with the Red Wings. … Pavel Datsyuk has 42 points (15 goals, 27 assists) in 38 career games against the Stars. … Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard is 7-5-2 against Dallas with a 2.20 GAA and .923 save percentage.

DETROIT RED WINGS

THE MATCHUP

- Tonight is the 246th all-time meeting between DET and DAL
- Tonight marks the 1st of 2 meetings this season between DET and DAL, only game at JLA
- DET’s all-time record vs. DAL: 108-97-34-6
- DET’s all-time home record vs. DAL: 62-42-16-3
- DET took 3 of 4 points vs. DAL in 2013-14, losing 4-3 in OT at home on 11/7/13 and winning 5-1 on the road on 1/4/14
- DET is 7-1-1 vs. DAL since the start of the 2011-12 season
- Jimmy Howard is 7-5-2 with a 2.20 GAA and .923 SV% vs. DAL
- Pavel Datsyuk has 42 points (15-27-42) in 38 games vs. DAL; his only NHL hat trick came in the postseason on 5/12/08 against DAL
- Henrik Zetterberg has 44 points (11-33-44) in 37 games vs. DAL
- Stephen Weiss has 9 points (3-6-9) in 11 games vs. DAL
- DAL’s all-time top scorers vs. DET: Shawn Horcoff (7-16-23 in 41 GP), Ales Hemsky (5-15-20 in 34 GP) and Trevor Daley (2-10-12 in 30 GP)
- DAL F Patrick Eaves skated in 197 games with DET and totaled 56 points (29-27-56) from 2009-14
- DAL F Tyler Seguin had 173 points (69-104-173) in 124 games with the Plymouth Whalers from 2008-10
- DAL F Shawn Horcoff had 152 points (50-102-152) in 155 games with Michigan State from 1996-00
- DAL F Jason Spezza made his pro debut with the Grand Rapids Griffins in the 2002 AHL Playoffs
- DAL D Jamie Oleksiak played for Little Caesars in 2008-09 and had 11 points (6-5-11) in 31 games with the Saginaw Spirit in 2011-12
- DAL GM Jim Nill played for DET from 1987-90 and served in the front office from 1994-13
- DAL assistant coach Curt Fraser served as head coach of the Grand Rapids Griffins from 2008-12

POTENT POWER PLAY

The Red Wings have scored a power play goal in 5 straight games (8-for-21, 38.1%) and now rank 7th in the NHL on the man advantage at 22.8%. Detroit scored just 2 PPG in its first 8 games of the season (2-for-30, 6.7%) but now stand 2nd in the league with 23 PPGs this season, one behind PIT (24). Detroit has also scored 2 PPGs in one game on 8 occasions this season, including in 3 of its last 5 games.

RECENT/UPCOMING MILESTONES

- Abdelkader reached 100 career points on 11/20 at WPG
- Weiss scored twice on 11/24 vs. OTT to reach 400 NHL points and added another on 11/26 vs. PHI to hit 150 career goals
- Franzen now sits 22nd in DET history with 363 points, passing Shawn Burr (362) and Kris Draper (361) in the last week. Franzen is 3 points behind Marcel Dionne (366) for 21st in franchise history
- Kronwall passed Mickey Redmond for 28th in DET history with his 311th career point on 11/30 vs. VAN
- DeKeyser played in his 100th NHL game on 11/30 vs. VAN
- Quincey is 4 games shy of 400 in the NHL
- Zetterberg is 6 points away from 750 in the NHL

THIS DATE IN RED WINGS HISTORY

December 4, 1975 – Alex Delvecchio is named Detroit’s head coach, replacing Doug Barkley. Delvecchio remained on as head coach until early in the 1975-76 season, posting a 53-81-21 record.

ON THE FARM

The Grand Rapids Griffins finished a four-game road trip with a 2-1-1-0 record, falling to the Toronto Marlies 4-2 on Tuesday. LouisMarc Aubry (2) and Andy Miele (8) scored in the loss for the Griffins, who stand ninth in the Western Conference at 9-8-2-0. Teemu Pulkkinen continues to lead the league in scoring, with 23 points (9-14-23) in 19 games. Next Game: 12/5 vs. Oklahoma City Barons

DALLAS STARS

RED ALERT

— The Stars wrap up their road trip in Detroit on Thursday as Dallas faces off against the Red Wings in the first of two contests scheduled between the two clubs this season.
— Dallas posted a 1-1-0 record against the Red Wings in 2013-14, recording a win in the squad’s only trip to Joe Louis Arena last season.
— The Stars come into Thursday’s tilt having registered wins in two of their last three games in Detroit (2-1-0).
— Dallas boasts an overall record of 103-106-36 all-time against Detroit, with a 45-62-16 mark on the road.
— Stars forward Shawn Horcoff led the Stars with two goals last season against Detroit, and leads all current Stars in goals, assists and points (7-16=23) in a team-high 41 career games against them. Horcoff comes into the contest riding a three-game point streak (2- 1=3) against the Red Wings.
— Forward Jason Spezza notched three points (2-1=3) in four games last season against the Red Wings. Spezza has recorded points in three of his last five games against them (2-3=5), including each of his last three at Joe Louis Arena (2-3=5).
— Goaltender Kari Lehtonen holds a record of 5-6-0 with a 3.19 GAA and a .907 SV% in 12 career appearances against Detroit.
— Netminder Anders Lindback is 1-0-0 in one career game against the Red Wings, posting 35 saves for a .946 SV% and a 2.00 GAA.
— Stars General Manager Jim Nill spent 19 seasons working in the Detroit Red Wings’ front office, serving as the assistant general manager for the final 15 before joining the Stars organization. Nill also spent the last three seasons of his NHL playing career with the Red Wings, recording 31 points (11-20=30) and 156 penalty minutes in 122 games with Detroit.
— Forward Patrick Eaves spent parts of five seasons with Detroit from 2009-14. Eaves logged 56 points (29-27=56) in 197 career games in a Red Wings’ sweater.

2014-15 Regular Season Schedule

Dec. 4 at Detroit
Feb. 21 vs. Detroit

EASTBOUND AND DOWN

— Thursday’s contest marks Dallas’ eighth game against the Eastern Conference, and the sixth on the road.
— The Stars currently hold a record of 3-3-1 against Eastern teams, with a 3-2-0 record against them on the road.
— Tyler Seguin leads the Stars with seven goals and 13 points (7-6=13) against the East this season, while Jason Spezza ranks second 11 points (3-8=11) against Eastern foes.
— Alex Goligoski paces the Stars with nine assists against Eastern teams and leads club defensemen with nine points (0-9=9).
— Netminder Kari Lehtonen boasts a 3-1-1 record against the Eastern Conference this season, allowing just two goals in three of his five appearances.