The NHL is studying changes to the scheduling process, and the Stars would like to help lead the charge toward a new format.

Commissioner Gary Bettman said he expects a scheduling change for next season after meeting with the board of governors Tuesday in Chicago. The current format emphasizes play within divisions and doesn't include playing every team from the opposing conference.

The schedule for 2007-08 was almost junked during a league vote last January during the All-Star break in Dallas but failed by one vote. The current format benefits teams located in the Eastern time zone, which accounts for 17 of the 30 teams, with no more than five teams located in any other time zone.

"Whatever we can do to make our game more accessible to fans in Dallas, we are going to try to do," Stars president Jim Lites said Wednesday. "There is no team that has the change in time zones that we do, so there is no team as adversely affected by this schedule as we are. We very much would like a change."

The Stars will play 14 games in the Pacific time zone this season and another 10 in the Mountain zone. That generally means late television starts for fans. Every team in the Western Conference will play 47 to 53 of its 82 games in its own time zone; in the Eastern Conference, teams will play 77 or 79 games in their own time zones.

The league probably will vote on a new schedule when the board of governors meets in California in late November. Lites said the Stars will probably be in the camp that would like to face each Eastern Conference team twice a season. There will also be a group that will push for a schedule in which teams face each team in the other conference only once a year (15 games).

Currently, teams face the other conference 10 times in a season. This season the Stars will host the teams in the Northeast Division, visit the teams in the Atlantic Division and not play any of the teams in the Southeast Division.

Stars captain Brenden Morrow said he believes teams need to play each other at least twice each season, home and away. Not only to develop rivalries, he said, but so fans can see all of the top players.

Stars goalie Marty Turco has been an important part of the changing leadership of the NHL Players Association and said he believes the players should have input into how the schedule is configured.

AP

Stars goalie Tobias Stephan yields a goal to Tampa Bay's Mathieu Darche in a 4-3 OT loss on Wednesday.

"Not only from the standpoint that we are playing the schedule, but also from the standpoint that this is an important issue regarding league revenue. We should most certainly be involved," he said. "Hopefully, they'll seek our input."

Lites said the demographics of the southern United States make a strong interconference schedule logical.

"If you look at the migration of people from the Northeast and the Midwest to the South and West, it only makes sense to see all of the teams," Lites said. "People in Dallas and Los Angeles want to see the Rangers and Penguins. People in Miami and Tampa want to see Chicago and Detroit. It's time to allow everyone to see our players."

Lites said discussions to change the divisional alignments were not as far along. The Stars are expected to also push for realignment.

TAMPA, Fla. – The Stars fell to the Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-3, in overtime Wednesday night. They overcame two one-goal deficits and tied the score with 1:01 left in the third period on Loui Eriksson's power-play goal. But the Lightning earned the victory with Mathieu Darche's goal with 19.6 seconds left in OT.

Stephane Robidas and Junior Lessard also scored for the Stars, who outshot the Lightning 39-29 and scored all their goals on the power play.

From staff reports