A couple of weeks ago, the Dallas Stars would have been trudging through a rainstorm and dodging lightning bolts on a day like today.

Right wing Jere Lehtinen has an abdominal strain that could keep him out for a while. Antti Miettinen has a groin strain that could prove bothersome. And the Stars open a six-game road trip, their longest of the season, with a noon game against the New York Rangers.

But instead of cursing their bad luck and looking for an umbrella, the Stars are looking at this trip as a challenge.

"Honestly, it's just, 'Let's keep working on our game and let's get better,' " Stars coach Dave Tippett said. "This is a hard trip, but it's a good, hard trip."

Coming off a 4-0-1 homestand in which they replaced their general manager, the Stars have the look of a different team. Or do they? No, this isn't the same team that was playing scared and blowing four-goal leads. But it is the same team that has found ways to win over the last four seasons under Tippett.

"It's just confidence and finding a rhythm," Tippett said. "It's not anything that we can't do. It's just staying within ourselves and playing our game."

ERIC KAYNE / DMN

The Dallas Stars' Jere Lehtinen, who has 19 points in 21 games, won't be available because of an injury.

And that means playing as a team. The Stars have done that in recent games, taking big leads and protecting them, taking small leads and protecting them, and coming from behind to win.

"We've been working together well and playing good hockey," said center Mike Ribeiro, who is on a seven-game point-scoring streak (three goals, six assists, nine points). "We're just playing as a team, we're more together, and we need to continue with this focus."

That focus, Tippett said, is more important than the details of the lineup. The team has played well whether Mike Smith or Marty Turco has been in goal.

Smith won three straight earlier in the week and looked like the team's savior, but Turco stepped into goal Friday and had 18 saves in a 3-1 victory against Toronto. The two are expected to split games against the Rangers today and the Islanders on Monday.

"I'm not sure what the order will be, but I think both are playing well and we'll use both of them," Tippett said.

Turco said the key is that the team is on the same page.

"We're doing little things that add up to the big picture," he said.

And that gives the Stars encouragement they can help cover for the loss of Lehtinen, who has 19 points in 21 games. Lehtinen might need surgery to repair a sports hernia, but first he will try to rest. Still, he did not go with the team to start the road trip and there is a good chance he will be out for an extended period of time.

"It's like everything else, we have to do it by committee," Tippett said of replacing Lehtinen's contributions. "Jere's game is all about hard work, and everyone can work harder."

Steve Ott can fill part of that role on the penalty kill. Loui Eriksson is getting a golden opportunity to play on the Stars' hottest line with Ribeiro (21 points, plus-10) and Brenden Morrow (22 points, plus-10).

The Stars called up forwards Brad Winchester and Joel Lundqvist from Iowa and could play both against the Rangers. That might have seemed like a problem a few weeks ago. It is being seen as something good now.

"Players are going to get a chance to prove themselves, whether that be getting into the lineup or moving into bigger roles," Tippett said. "What they need to do is step in and do the job the way that other players have done. Just be a part of the team."