Dave Tippett had a message for everyone after the Dallas Stars' 3-1 loss to Nashville on Saturday night.

"That what you get when you get giddy," he said.

The giddiness, of course, came from Brad Richards' five assists in his first game in a Stars' uniform Thursday – a 7-4 win over Chicago.

But the excitement of that debut came flying out of American Airlines Center against the Predators, who stifled the Stars' offense and forced an 0-for-7 night on the power play.

Richards had no points and was minus-2. Mike Modano, who had the opportunity to play with Richards in several situations, had five giveaways. And the flow of playing four lines was stifled by a game full of special teams play and the need to come from behind in the third period.

"It was one of those games where you need to be patient," Richards said. "It was frustrating. It was a little bit of a letdown compared to the other night."

The Stars, 41-23-5 (87 points), lost for only the third time in the last 16 games.

Tippett said Richards was a little spent emotionally. The 27-year-old center, who was acquired from Tampa Bay on Tuesday in a trade, had to travel to Dallas, get a hotel room and get to know his teammates.

Tippett said Thursday's performance was probably fueled by the emotions of the moment, and that the letdown Saturday was not out of the norm.

"It's been an emotional week for us, some ups and downs," Tippett said. "I was worried about our emotional level for this game."

Nashville came in with plenty of emotion. The Predators are fighting for a playoff spot in the West and needed a strong game. They got it from a determined group of skaters and former Stars prospect Dan Ellis in goal.

Ellis stopped 24 shots and was in a scoreless game entering the third period.

That opened the door for his teammates, who struck quickly. David Legwand slipped a wrist shot past Stars goalie Marty Turco in transition at the 47-second mark of the third period. Then, Jordin Tootoo muscled a slippery shot through Turco from a hard angle at the 7:53 mark.

Mike Ribeiro pulled the Stars to within 2-1 at the 8:23 mark of the third, scoring on a drive to the net.

However, the Predators' lead was back to two goals 23 seconds later when J.P. Dumont scored off an odd-man rush.

That was one of the breakdowns the Stars will have to fix in the upcoming three days off. That, in addition, to a ton of power-play practice. Dallas went 0-for-26 on the season with the man advantage in four games against the Predators.

"We had some good chances on the 5-on-3, and we didn't get it done," Ribeiro said. "We know we have to outwork teams in order for us to win, and that won't change."

Niskanen close: Matt Niskanen missed his third game with a bruised foot, but skated hard in the morning and said he hopes to be ready for Wednesday's game against Phoenix.

"It felt good," Niskanen said. "As good as it's felt in a while."

Tippett said Niskanen would take today off with the rest of the team to see how the foot reacts after Saturday's hard workout. Niskanen is expected to be in full practice mode Monday.

Briefly: Stars D Philippe Boucher played in his 700th regular-season game. ... Stars LW Brad Winchester celebrated his 27th birthday with a return to the lineup. Joel Lundqvist was the Stars' healthy scratch. ... Loui Eriksson had an assist and extended his career-best point streak to five games (six goals, one assist for seven points). ... The Stars hosted their fifth consecutive sellout (18,584).