SUNRISE, Fla. -- Exactly one year after being acquired in a trade with the Dallas Stars, Florida Panthers goalie Dan Ellis will start against his former team Thursday at BB&T?Center.

Ellis will make his first start of the season after being recalled Wednesday from the San Antonio Rampage of the American Hockey League?in the aftermath of the injuries sustained by Roberto Luongo and Al Montoya in a 3-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs the night before.

Luongo, who left the game after the first period with a shoulder injury before returning with 9:08 left in the third, is expected to miss at least the next two games.

The Panthers play the New York Islanders on Saturday before having four days off.

"[The break]???is definitely going to help,"???Panthers coach Gerard Gallant said. "He wouldn't be 100 percent going into the net tonight, so there's no reason to put somebody at risk or go into the net like that. If it was a playoff game, maybe it'd be different. He hasn't been cleared. Monday will be a re-evaluation day."

Montoya's injury is considered more severe. He's expected to be out 2-4 weeks with a groin injury he sustained on Nazem Kadri's goal that tied the game against Toronto at 2-2 in the third period. Montoya played through the injury for more than 10 minutes while the Panthers tried to get clearance from NHL officials to have goaltending coach Robb Tallas get into the game.

Tallas eventually was approved, but Luongo told team officials he could finish the game.

Ellis, who was acquired from the Stars for veteran goalie Tim Thomas, was 22-11-3 with two shutouts in San Antonio. In six appearances with the Panthers last season, Ellis was 0-5-0 with a 4.81 goals-against average and .836 save percentage.

Ellis' backup will be Sam Brittain, who was recalled from the Cincinnati Cyclones of the East Coast Hockey League. Brittain, a fourth-round pick of the Panthers in the 2010 NHL???Draft, is the third player to go directly from the ECHL???to the NHL, according to STATS.

While they're dealing with goalie injuries, the Panthers at least will have captain Willie Mitchell back in the lineup. The veteran defenseman missed the past 15 games with an upper-body injury.

"It's good to have the captain, the leader back,"???defenseman Dmitry Kulikov said. "We missed him in the lineup in the past few games and his presence is definitely going to make a difference."

Kulikov was a key figure the first time the Panthers played against the Stars on Feb. 13. His low hit on star center Tyler Seguin in the third period resulted in a knee injury that has since kept Seguin out of the lineup since. Kulikov was suspended four games.

Dallas (28-26-10)???is 2-5-2 since Seguin has been out and nine points behind the Minnesota Wild for the second Western Conference wild-card spot into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Kulikov said after the morning skate he would keep his head up a little more than usual???Thursday, but the Stars said retaliation wasn't on their minds.

"That isn't our focus,"???coach Lindy Ruff said. "Our focus is to win the game. I'm not even going to talk about that situation. For me, it's behind us. It's been dealt with. The League dealt with it. Both teams are desperate to win a hockey game. That has to be our focus. Those situations are always there. The biggest damage we can do now is on the scoresheet. If you have a good chance to lay a lick on somebody, you lay a lick on somebody, but our focus is to win the game."

Dallas defeated Florida 2-0 on Feb. 13 with a short-handed goal by Jamie Benn and a goal by Jason Spezza. Goalie Kari Lehtonen, who will start Thursday, made 37 saves.

The game will match the two leading rookie goal scorers among defensemen, Florida's Aaron Ekblad and Dallas' John Klingberg. Ekblad set a franchise rookie record for defensemen Tuesday with his 11th goal; Klingberg has 10 goals.

The Panthers (28-23-13)?????????come in trailing the Boston Bruins by two points for the second Eastern Conference wild-card spot, although the Bruins have two games in hand.

Here are the projected lineups:

STARS

Jamie Benn - Jason Spezza - Patrick Eaves

Antoine Roussel - Cody Eakin - Ryan Garbutt

Colton Sceviour - Vernon Fiddler - Ales Hemsky

Curtis McKenzie - Shawn Horcoff - Brett Ritchie

Alex Goligoski - John Klingberg

Jordie Benn - Jason Demers

Patrik Nemeth - Jyrki Jokipakka

Injured:?????????Trevor Daley (knee), Tyler Seguin (knee), Travis Moen (upper body), Valeri Nichushkin (lower body)

PANTHERS

Jonathan Huberdeau - Aleksander Barkov - Jaromir Jagr

Jussi Jokinen - Nick Bjugstad - Brad Boyes

Brandon Pirri - Vincent Trocheck - Jimmy Hayes

Tomas Kopecky - Derek MacKenzie - Shawn Thornton

Brian Campbell - Aaron Ekblad

Willie Mitchell - Erik Gudbranson

Dmitry Kulikov - Steven Kampfer

Dan Ellis

Sam Brittain

Scratched: Scottie Upshall, Alex Petrovic

Injured: Roberto Luongo (shoulder), Al Montoya (groin), Dave Bolland (upper body)

Status report: With Daley injured, the Stars are carrying 12 forwards and six defensemen. ... The Panthers did not hold a morning skate and Gallant said he wasn't sure about his lineup.

Who's hot: Huberdeau had four assists in his past two games. ... Ekblad scored in each of the past two games. ... Pirri has nine goals in his past 12 games. ... Eakin had three goals and two assists in his past three games.