On Saturday night, gritty captain Brenden Morrow will lead the Dallas Stars into Phoenix to take on Wayne Gretzky's Coyotes. The Stars are currently in second place in the hotly-contested Pacific Division, largely because star goaltender Marty Turco has picked up right where he left off last spring. Meanwhile, Gretzky's Coyotes are coming off an impressive victory over the defending Stanley Cup champion Ducks, and they'll be looking to build on that momentum against Dallas. Televised in brilliant 1080i on HDNet, this is an exciting Western Conference battle you definitely won't want to miss!

Stars to Watch

Stars center Mike Modano is only four points away from Phil Housley's NHL record for scoring by an American-born player (1,232 points). He's struggled mightily thus far this season, tallying only two points in nine games, and will be looking to break out against the Coyotes. The 37-year-old Modano remains one of the game's fastest skaters, and will most definitely be one of the Stars to watch on Saturday night.

Acquired last fall from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for foundering veteran rearguard Janne Niinimaa, forward Mike Ribeiro is finally starting to blossom into a legitimate top-line forward. He's tallied seven points in six games for the Stars thus far this season, while posting an impressive plus-four rating. The talented Ribeiro, a Montreal native, appeared to be distracted while playing for his hometown team. But with Dallas, the speedy center is coming into his own.

Last season, Stars netminder Marty Turco was dogged by criticism that he couldn't deliver in crunch time. But after his scintillating performance in the Stars' seven-game loss to the Canucks last spring, it became abundantly clear that Turco is in fact a top-tier big-game goalie. This fall, with his undeserved reputation as a playoff choke-artist tossed away for good, Turco is thriving, amongst the league leaders in virtually every meaningful statistical category.

Coyotes to Watch

Goals haven't come easily for the Coyotes this season, but on Thursday night, they only needed one. Rookie Craig Weller tallied his first NHL goal, and Alex Auld made 31 saves in helping the Coyotes to an impressive 1-0 victory over the defending Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks. Weller's winning goal was set up former Star Niko Kapanen, an extremely reliable two-way Finnish forward. Kapanen is currently leading the Coyotes with five points, and has quickly emerged as one of Phoenix's most important players since he arrived via a trade (with the Atlanta Thrashers) last spring.

Making a triumphant return to the lineup on Thursday night was rearguard Zbynek Michalek. He finished the game with a plus-one rating while taking a regular shift on defense. Michalek broke out with a nine-goal, 24-point campaign in 2005-06, and followed that up with a 28-point performance in 2006-07. The older brother of Sharks forward Milan Michalek, Zbynek boasts a blistering slap shot and above-average skating ability. Though he went undrafted--while his brother was selected with the sixth overall pick in the very deep 2003 draft--Zbynek is quickly developing into a very reliable blue line option for Gretzky.

The situation on the Coyotes' blue line definitely bears watching. Derek Morris has played quite well thus far, and could generate considerable interest on the trade market as the season progresses. Meanwhile, high-priced rearguard Ed Jovanovski has been a tremendous disappointment thus far. With only one assist and a team-worst minus-nine rating, Jovo-Cop has looked like anything but the All-Star the Coyotes were expecting when they signed him last summer. And with $25.5 million and four years remaining on his long-term deal, Jovanovski has quickly become a salary cap albatross that the Coyotes will have tremendous difficulty shedding.

About the NHL on HDNet

HDNet's NHL game broadcasts are shot exclusively for presentation in the highest-quality 1080i high-definition format, giving viewers all the benefits of a 16:9 aspect ratio and high-resolution picture. A complete schedule of programming, including encore presentations and additional games, as scheduled, is available at HD.net or at NHL.com. The schedule is subject to change, and local blackout restrictions apply.