Feb. 07--Stars winger Patrick Sharp and defenseman Johnny Oduya have played their former team twice this season -- once at the United Center in the preseason and again in December in Dallas.
But the third time around still feels odd for Sharp and Oduya to go up against their former teammates.
"Usually it's weird for almost like the first year kind, I'd say the first season," Oduya said. "After that there's usually more of a personnel change, a lot of guys leave in different places, but obviously Chicago is a special place for me and Patrick. Going back to the UC for that first game was very strange."
Sharp said he had dinner with some of the Hawks on Friday night and stays connected with them throughout the season.
"It's still a little different ..." Sharp said. "It's still a weird feeling. But once the game starts, it's a hockey game as usual. There's some valuable points on the line so we'll put that aside."
Oduya said both have been able to become acclimated with the Stars and over time, the strange feelings of playing the Hawks should fade away.
"You feel a part of what's going on here," Oduya said. "It feels in a way like you're playing against ... brothers around the league. You know them pretty good. ... But for every game you play, it becomes a little bit more of a natural thing than that first game."
Sharp has struggled of late and had not scored a goal in his previous 11 games before Saturday.
"You have guys cycle through good stretches, tough stretches," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. "He's going through a stretch now where the puck hasn't gone in for him but we need him to step up. I think he knows how to handle situations like this where sometimes it's going tough."
Hawks headed outdoors, again?: The NHL is in talks with the Blues to host an outdoor game next season at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The report mentioned the Hawks as a possible opponent for the game, which is likely to be the Winter Classic potentially on Jan. 2 or a Stadium Series game, which the Hawks are playing on Feb. 21 in Minneapolis.
