Andrew Hutchinson won't ride in on a white horse to save the Stars, but it's players like him that the Dallas Stars need right now.

On a team with five key injuries and salary cap issues, Dallas will ice a squad tonight against the Calgary Flames that has players from all over the place. Hutchinson is the recently acquired skilled defenseman who has played with the Tampa Bay Lightning and the AHL's Norfolk Admirals this season. He is joining a defense that includes Doug Janik, also a recent Tampa Bay property, and Darryl Sydor, who started the season in Pittsburgh.

Up front, the Stars are counting on the likes of Mark Parrish (an unrestricted free agent who played last season with the Minnesota Wild), Landon Wilson (called up from Grand Rapids of the AHL after spending three seasons in Europe), Chris Conner (called up from Peoria) and James Neal (a rookie who spent some time in Manitoba).

Compared with this time last year, 10 of the Stars' 18 skaters are new. Six weren't here at the start of the season. And yet, they have to find a way to bond and overcome an 8-11-4 start.

"We have some key people out, and we're going to have to scramble if we want to win games," Stars coach Dave Tippett said. "That's why it's so important right now that we have everybody doing the job we ask them to do. If they do it well enough, we've got a chance to win."

Ironically, Tippett probably has never had more attentive students. A half dozen could be back in the minors in a month or so, so they're trying to make an impression. Hutchinson, for example, is coming off a season in which he tallied 64 points and won the AHL's Most Outstanding Defenseman award. But the 28-year-old out of Michigan State is trying to finally find a home on his fourth NHL team.

"I think it's great," he said of the trade. "I'm happy to be here and have an opportunity with a new team."

Hutchinson is a solid skater, a good power-play quarterback and a right-handed shot. He should be able to help the team while Sergei Zubov (lower body) is out. Neal is filling in for captain Brenden Morrow (who is out for six months with a knee injury). Parrish is trying to pick up some of the goal-scoring slack of Jere Lehtinen. Wilson is trying to add some of the grit lost by injuries to Steve Ott and Joel Lundqvist.

And while the easy criticism is that these players are all lesser versions of the players out with injuries, the Stars are hoping they can bond and become a cohesive team. That's something Dallas' top unit has struggled with this season.

"You never know when you will get an opportunity," said defenseman Stephane Robidas, who seized his chance last season and now is one of the Stars' top minute players. "When you get the opportunity, you have to do your best and prove to everyone you can play here."