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DALLAS -- Much has changed since the last time the Anaheim Ducks and Dallas Stars met on Oct. 13 at American Airlines Center to start the 2016-17 regular season.Dallas won that night 3-1, but the Stars are languishing in the middle of the Central Division standings with an 11-13-6 record. The Stars just completed an 0-2-0 road trip that saw them lose back-to-back games at Philadelphia on Saturday and at division rival Chicago on Sunday.The Stars, who are 7-4-2 at home, have allowed 96 goals so far this season, tying them with the Jets for most in the NHL.But as Dallas returns home to begin a stretch where eight of its next nine games are on home ice, coach Lindy Ruff knows the time is now for his inconsistent club to start righting the ship.This will be the season for us, Ruff said after Sundays 3-1 loss in Chicago. Weve got to try to build some momentum (at home). I think all of the season is going to land on this homestand.The Stars got a boost Sunday from the return of injured defenseman Johnny Oduya, who had missed the previous 10 games with a lower-body injury, and of veteran forward Jiri Hudler, sidelined the previous 20 games due to illness.However, on Tuesday, Dallas will be without young defenseman Jamie Oleksiak, who will be serving the final game of a two-game suspension for a check to the head of Philadelphias Chris Van de Velde on Saturday.Even with Oleksiak unavailable, Stars captain Jamie Benn knows its now or never for him and his teammates to start racking up points and improving their mediocre record.Weve got a lot of catching up to do. We put ourselves in a tough spot, but no reason why we cant turn this around, Benn said. Weve got to find a way to dig deep here and give ourselves a chance to get back in this.Anaheim (15-9-6), on the other hand, heads into Tuesdays game on a three-game winning streak and occupying first place in the Pacific Division.On Sunday at Honda Center, the Ducks defeated Ottawa 5-1 to finish their three-game homestand a perfect 3-0-0.Corey Perry and Antoine Vermette each had a goal and an assist for Anaheim, who is 5-5-4 on the road so far this season.We came out, we were energized, we were ready to play, Perry said. Everybody in here knew what was at stake. It was our last one before we go on the road for a tough stretch. You need those two points.The Ducks are starting a six-game road trip that after Dallas will take them to Boston, Detroit, Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa before returning home to host San Jose on Dec. 27.First-year Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle likes how his club has been playing of late, but there are still areas where hed like to see additional improvement.Our ability to play fast and execute fast is getting better. Im not saying its where it needs to be, but its getting there, Carlyle said.Since it was coming off a back-to-back, Dallas had Monday off. But one story line to track during morning skate on Tuesday will be whether Ruff sticks with Kari Lehtonen in goal, who is 2-3-0 with a 2.20 goals-against-average over his five straight starts, or if he goes back to Antti Niemi.But regardless of who Ruff puts between the pipes, Dallas ongoing defensive woes continue to put it squarely behind the eight ball. Last season, when the Stars led the NHL in goals scored, their defensive deficiencies were covered up by the fact they could outscore most foes.However, with Dallas goals for down this season, those weaknesses in the back end have become much more glaring because those mistakes are now leading to more losses.Yeah, I think that our guys feel a lot of pressure, Ruff said. We got out of a lot of games last year, especially in the first 50, where we were winning games 5-3 and mistakes werent killing us. Right now, with our scoring being down, the big mistakes are really standing out. Custom Kings T-shirts . Spiller left Week 3s 27-20 loss to the New York Jets with a thigh injury, but fully practiced with the team all week and expects to be ready to go on Sunday. Rob Blake Jersey Large .J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again. http://www.customnhlkingsjersey.com/ . As the crowd erupted, Davis knocked the ball off the glass and back into his hands. With 1:14 to go in overtime, Davis sixth block also became his 17th rebound. That, along with his 32 points -- which tied a career high -- proved too much for Denver to overcome, and the Pelicans held on for their third straight victory, 111-107 on Sunday night. Custom Kings Jerseys . For the Wild it was their first win of the season and they now have a record of 1-1-2 while the Jets fall to 2-2. Jets start a six game home stand Friday with another divisional game, home to the Dallas Stars. Custom Kings Jersey China . The parade and rally were held to celebrate the Saskatchewan Roughriders 45-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Sunday in the CFLs championship game. Starting next season, NFL teams will be allowed to choose which type of cancer they wish to raise awareness of in October, which traditionally has been breast cancer awareness month for the league.?The NFL informed teams of the change in a conference call last week, the MMQB.com reported Tuesday. Teams can still support breast cancer if they wish, but will be able to support other cancer causes, as long as a form of the disease is screenable and detectable.The NFL, since 2009, has allowed players to wear pink accessories and has featured the color on fields and sidelines. While the NFL has raised almost $15 million for the American Cancer Society through its campaign, it also has drawn criticism from those who suspect the pink initiative is a way to make more money through merchandise sales.Next year, the NFLs campaign will still be named A Crucial Catch, but there wont be one signature color, the MMQB reported, which will make the league find alternatives to merchandise sales to raise funds.The truth is, as we transition in 2017, it will be a different kind of year, Anna Isaacson, the NFLs vice president of social responsibility, told the MMQB.com. Once we see how that goes, we will know more for 2018. We hope we raise, if not the same, more than we have, of course. The pressure is on to thinnk about how we can do that.dddddddddddd Thats the goal, but I wouldnt say we have solved that yet.The seeds for change were planted in 2014 through a letter to commissioner Roger Goodell from the Houston Texans Devon Still, who suggested the month of October shouldnt be limited to breast cancer awareness for the NFL, the MMQB reported. Still was replying to a letter from Goodell, who had sent a message of support to Still, whose daughter Leah was fighting stage 4 neuroblastoma (Leah Still has been in remission for more than a year now).Goodell told Still about the leagues planned change last fall, according to the MMQB, when Still was among players who visited the league office to discuss the My Cause, My Cleats initiative, which began this season.The My Cause, My Cleats campaign took place in Week 13 when players were allowed to wear their own signature cleats which drew attention to a charity they supported.It lets me know that hes listening, Still told the MMQB.com. For a long time, we have been supporting causes close to the heads of the NFL. To find out they are really following through with this, it makes me feel like the players are gaining more of a voice. ' ' '