SAN JOSE, Calif. – Philippe Boucher understands the challenges that lay ahead.

But with six games remaining in the regular season, he feels he can get back to speed at the NHL level.

Boucher returned to the lineup Thursday against San Jose after missing six games with a slight separation of his right shoulder. That wouldn't be big news, except that Boucher missed 38 games with a full separation of his left shoulder before that. Boucher was playing just his fifth game since Dec. 3.

"It will take some time, but I've done this before and I have a pretty good idea what it takes," Boucher said. "A lot of it is conditioning, a lot of it is timing, and you just have to work on both and get things back to the level you need."

Boucher said he felt marked improvement when he returned from the left shoulder injury Feb. 26-March 5. He played 18:47 against St. Louis, 18:13 against Chicago and then 22:41 against Phoenix.

"By the end of that third game, I was reacting and just playing, I wasn't hesitating, I wasn't thinking," he said. "That's why I was so excited about playing the fourth game."

But eight seconds into the fourth game, he took a huge hit into the boards and had to leave.

So, how many games does he now need to get back to full strength?

"It's a challenge where you just want to get better each game," he said. "That's my goal right now."

Sergei Zubov (foot) did not play Thursday, but he is on the trip and is expected to skate at practice today.

Tight schedule: If the Stars start the playoffs on the road (and that looks like a good possibility), they will almost assuredly have to go with a Thursday-Saturday format and then follow with their first two home games on April 15 and 17.

The NHL playoffs are scheduled to start April 9, and if the Stars are on the road, they will have to adjust to the arena schedule of the opposition.

However, when they come home, American Airlines Center is booked for March 12 (Desperados), March 13 (Bruce Springsteen), March 14 (Bon Jovi), March 16th (Mavericks) and March 18th (Mavericks). That would leave the 15th and 17th as the only open dates.

If Dallas started Wednesday and Friday on the road, the two teams would have three days off before Game 3. If they start on Thursday and Saturday, they would have two days off.

Briefly: The Stars entered the game with their third longest current active road winning streak against one opponent (six games vs. the Sharks). They have won eight straight road games against Tampa Bay and seven straight against Edmonton. ... The Stars have been passed by Montreal for second best goal differential in the NHL. They started Thursday at No. 3 with plus-30 goals. ... Mike Ribeiro entered the game with fifth most points in Dallas Stars history after 76 games (78 points). Since moving to Dallas, Mike Modano has the highest total with 82 points after 76 games in 1993-94.