In his continuous quest to find the right chemistry for his top lines, Avalanche coach Joe Sacco on Thursday moved Matt Duchene to the same line as the team’s highest-paid player, Paul Stastny.

For tonight’s game against the Dallas Stars, Duchene will skate at left wing on a line with Stastny, with veteran Milan Hejduk on the right side.

“We’ll see if that can spark a couple of those guys,” Sacco said after Avs practice Thursday. “It’s an opportunity for (them) to feed off each other a little bit offensively. We’ll see what it brings. It can always change, but I’m not going to just keep things consistent when they’re not working, when we’re not getting production the way we’d like to see it.”

Not much has worked for Sacco of late when it comes to his second line, the one with Duchene at center. The loss of Peter Mueller from a line with Duchene and Hejduk has hurt.

Duchene has not found good chemistry with an assortment of wingers, so Sacco will experiment with him at left wing with Stastny — who has also struggled. The two played together at times late last season, but Duchene always has been a natural center.

“Stats and I read the game pretty similarly,” Duchene said. “We haven’t played that much together in the three years that I’ve been here, but we did a little late last year and we did well.”

The only line that has consistently stayed together all season is Ryan O’Reilly centering Gabriel Landeskog and Daniel Winnik. That won’t change against the Stars. TJ Galiardi will center a line with Joakim Lindstrom and David Jones.

“Five-on-5, our production has not been what we’d like,” Sacco said.

Sacco also will shake up his defensive pairings. Of the three recent pairings, only Kyle Quincey and Shane O’Brien will stay together. Erik Johnson, whose play has been subpar, will be paired with Ryan Wilson. Ryan O’Byrne will skate with Jan Hejda.

“We can’t sit still and watch guys who you think can be better not be better,” Sacco said. “You’ve got to make some changes at the right times.”

Footnote.

Mueller, out since the middle of last month with a head injury, skated for a second consecutive day Thursday, before practice with Brandon Yip (broken forearm). “We’re just hoping he continues to progress the way he has,” Sacco said of Mueller. “I think it’s a good sign that he’s skating again, and each day we’ll give him a little bit more and hopefully he progresses the way that we want him to. He’s a guy who, obviously when he’s healthy, can contribute for us offensively.”

Adrian Dater: 303-954-1360 or adater@denverpost.com

Notebook

Avalanche: Fathers of Avalanche players traveled with the team to Dallas as part of an annual occurrence. “Fathers Week” began a few days ago. . . . Semyon Varlamov will start in goal for the Avs. . . . Colorado is 6-1-0 on the road. . . . The Avs’ power play is ranked second in the NHL (26.3 percent).

Stars: The Stars are last in the NHL in home attendance. Crowds averaged 9,671 through the first six games at American Airlines Center. . . . The Stars haven’t played since Saturday, a 3-1 home win over New Jersey. . . . Dallas has blocked 184 shots as a team through the first 11 games.

Adrian Dater, The Denver Post

Spotlight on Kari Lehtonen: One of the NHL’s three stars for the month of October, the Stars goalie entered Thursday fourth in the NHL with a 1.75 goals-against average. His save percentage of .947 was second in the league.