Stars' Lehtonen plays critical role against Florida

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Key matchup: Kari Lehtonen vs. Tomas Vokoun

Two of the best goalies to start this season, Lehtonen leads Dallas with a 4-1-0 record and a .921 save percentage, while Vokoun has a 2-2-0 record with a .952 save percentage. However, they are different in their history against the opponent. Vokoun is 6-17-1 lifetime against the Stars with a 2.54 GAA, while Lehtonen is 12-5-4 against Florida with a 2.42 GAA.
Key stat: 2.0

Brad Richards leads the NHL in scoring with 10 points in five games for a 2.0 average per game. He also is tied for the NHL lead (with linemate Loui Eriksson) in plus-minus at plus-8.
Injuries

Florida : D Jason Garrison (groin) is questionable. RW Byron Bitz (groin) is out.

Dallas: None.


Notable

After missing three games, Jamie Benn (concussion-like symptoms) will return to the lineup for the Stars and center a line with Steve Ott and Brandon Segal. ... Steven Reinprecht had three goals and an assist last season in a 6-5 Florida win over the Stars. ... Dallas is 10-7-6 all-time against the Panthers. ... This is the only meeting of the year between these two teams. ... Florida is coming off a 6-0 win over Tampa Bay on Saturday and has had four days off.

 

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Stars' continued success dependent on fixing the little things


The Stars don't like to think they're winning with smoke and mirrors. Yes, they're 4-1-0 and rank last in the NHL in average shots per game (21.8), last in penalty-kill success (60.0 percent) and 29th in shots against per game (38.0), but that doesn't mean they haven't earned their wins.

"We are doing some things well and some things not as well, and we've been able to win four games like that," said Stars coach Marc Crawford. "So we need to fix what we aren't doing well and win more games."

After allowing 44 shots on goal and four power-play goals in a 5-4 loss to Tampa Bay on Monday, the Stars coaches have had a couple of days to look at film and go over a few of their problems before playing at the Florida Panthers today. The result is that the team needs attention to detail in a few areas and a little bit more confidence in others.

"[There are] a lot of little things that can be fixed, and if we fix them, then I think as a team we're more confident and maybe we're more comfortable doing the right things," Crawford said. "It's a matter of being able to do the things we're supposed to do and then doing that over and over again."

Crawford used the penalty kill as an example. The team ranked 27th in the league in penalty killing last season and did a ton of work to adopt a more aggressive philosophy in training camp. But are they now being too aggressive in that department?

"No, I don't think we're aggressive enough," Crawford said. "I think we're hesitating because it is a new way of doing things, and we're still learning. But, once we learn, and once we trust, we feel we will be much better."

The same goes for the power play. Crawford said he was just as disappointed in his team's 0-for-5 performance against the Lightning with just five shots on goal as he was in the porous penalty kill. Stars leading scorer Brad Richards said the team has to find a way to get more shots to the net.

"You've got to get shots on goal," Richards said. "You can't have four power plays with only two or three shots on them. It's just not going to work. We have to play more simple, straight-forward hockey."

The Stars practiced equally on the penalty kill and the power play Wednesday, and Crawford said the team is working hard to get shots on target during the power play. Because Richards is such a focus of the defense on the power play, fellow point man Matt Niskanen will have to find a way to get his shots through.

"He knows he has to get his shots off more quickly and that's something we're working on," Crawford said of Niskanen. "But there is also a second layer of shot-blockers, so he has to get it away quickly and still have something on it."

Right now, the team is getting solid goaltending from Kari Lehtonen, scheduled to start his sixth straight game, and timely scoring from the top two lines. If they can shore up the areas that have been lacking, those strong areas won't seem like smoke and mirrors.

"It's still early," Lehtonen said. "We just need to clean things up a bit, and I think we're going to be fine."

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