DALLAS — Marc Methot is back in the lineup after missing 26 straight games with a knee injury.
Methot had knee surgery on Nov. 19 and has been skating for a couple weeks now, but the Stars wanted to be patient with the injury.
“It’s like any other game for me, I’ve been around long enough,” Methot said. “I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel on the ice. Just going to play a simple game and I’ve been in this situation before, so I know how to handle it.”
While Methot was out Stephen Johns and Julius Honka filled in as the third-pairing, with the right-handed Johns moving to his off hand.
Johns will move back to his natural side on Thursday and is expected to play with Methot, while Honka will be the healthy scratch.
It ends a streak of 11 straight games for Honka, who had limited minutes at even strength but was playing on the second power play unit.
With Methot back in the lineup, John Klingberg will get less time shorthanded and Stars coach Ken Hitchcock plans to ramp up the amount of time the top-pairing defenseman plays on the power play, potentially giving him 90 seconds of each two-minute stretch.
Hanzal back
Martin Hanzal is back in the lineup after missing three games with a lower-body injury.
Hanzal has had five different injuries this season, and the Stars believe he’s back up to 100 percent.
With Hanzal back in Gemel Smith is going to be a scratch. Hanzal will play on the fourth line to start with Jason Dickinson and Brett Ritchie, but could be moved up in the lineup as the game progresses.
Coleman comes home
Devils forward and Plano native Blake Coleman will play his first NHL game in Texas on Thursday.
Coleman played youth hockey in Texas before getting drafted by New Jersey in the third round of the 2011 NHL Draft. He made his NHL debut last season, and scored his first career NHL goal when the Stars visited the Devils on March 27, 2017.
Coleman said one of the coolest parts about that first goal was having it called by Stars broadcaster Daryl Reaugh, who he listened to growing up as a kid.
“He was the voice of hockey with Ralph when I was growing up,” Coleman said. “To have him call that first goal, and whenever we play the Stars I re-watch the game with the Dallas feed.”
Coleman is going to have a large contingency of friends and family at the game Thursday. His family booked a suite for the game, and he estimates another “50 or 60” friends have tickets.
“Lot to see after the game. I’ll be shaking hands and kissing babies,” Coleman said. “Most people were really proactive and reached out and told me they already got tickets. It’s going to be fun.”
Coleman said he went to hundreds of Stars games as a kid, most with his grandmother who had season tickets before she recently moved to New Jersey.
We discussed the 2000 Stanley Cup Finals where the Devils beat the Stars in Game 6 at Reunion Arena on a goal by Jason Arnott, who was actually in the building for the morning skate on Thursday along with former Star and Devil Vernon Fiddler.
“I was furious,” Coleman said. “I remember watching that game and being so angry, I wanted the Stars to win another Stanley Cup. Never thought I’d end up playing for New Jersey some day.”
Coleman is one of two Plano natives on the Devils. Stefan Noessen is also Texan, but has played in Dallas before when he was playing for the Anaheim Ducks. Noessen had a bit of advice for Coleman about his first game back in Texas.
“It’s an exciting time,” Noessen said. “Last year when I had the chance to come here and you get all your nervous energy out during warmups, then the game kind of takes over. Then you realize you’re playing a game, but that first shift, it’s exciting. You’re out there playing instead of watching, it’s a bit of a wirlwid.”
Devils Projected lineup
Taylor Hall — Nico Hischier — Jesper Bratt
Marcus Johansson — Travis Zajac — Kyle Palmieri
Miles Wood — Pavel Zacha — Stefan Noesen
Blake Coleman — Brian Boyle — Brian Gibbons
Andy Greene — Steven Santini
John Moore — Sami Vatanen
Will Butcher — Ben Lovejoy
Cory Schneider
Keith Kinkaid
Scratched: Damon Severson, Jimmy Hayes, Drew Stafford
Injured: Mirco Mueller (clavicle)
Stars projected lineup
Jamie Benn — Tyler Seguin — Alexander Radulov
Mattias Janmark — Jason Spezza — Devin Shore
Antoine Roussel — Radek Faksa — Tyler Pitlick
Jason Dickinson — Martin Hanzal — Brett Ritchie
Esa Lindell — John Klingberg
Dan Hamhuis — Greg Pateryn
Marc Methot — Stephen Johns
Ben Bishop
Kari Lehtonen
Scratched: Julius Honka, Gemel Smith
Injured: Remi Elie (illness)
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