Landon Bow, who was called up from the AHL Tuesday, will back up Khudobin tonight.

"He has the mentality of a No. 1," Stars coach Jim Montgomery said. "He believes, and we all believe, that he truly is a No. 1. It's a luxury to have this, and this is why [Stars GM] Jim Nill went out and signed him."

With Stars No. 1 goaltender Ben Bishop out one week or so with a lower-body injury suffered in Monday's game against the New York Rangers, the Stars will turn to Anton Khudobin in net. Khudobin has been solid in goal for the Stars this season, posting a 3-3-1 record, 2.37 goals against average and .925 save percentage.

The Dallas Stars close out their three-game road trip tonight when they take on the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena (6 p.m. CT; FS-SW+; KTCK).

"It's a good opportunity for me," Bow said. "I want to come up and show what I've got, build on what I've done at the beginning of the season, and learn as much as I can."

The Stars will be down another defenseman tonight. Julius Honka is out due to illness, so Ben Gleason will draw in tonight on defense. The pairs were mixed at the morning skate but the six who will play tonight are Esa Lindell, Miro Heiskanen, Roman Polak, Gavin Bayreuther, Joel Hanley, and Gleason.

Video: "It's a game you gotta get up for"

There will be one change at forward with Brett Ritchie, who has been scratched the past two games, coming in tonight and Gemel Smith sitting as a healthy scratch.

"Ritchie, when he is effective, is a really good forechecker. A big part of our game plan is going to be getting pucks in deep," said Montgomery. "It was his turn to get back in the lineup."

Ritchie will slot in on the fourth line with Jason Dickinson and Valeri Nichushkin. Mattias Janmark will move up to the second line with Jason Spezza and Roope Hintz. The top line of Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, and Alexander Radulov will stay intact.

Montgomery said he would like to get his top line out against Penguins center Sidney Crosby, who returns to the lineup tonight after missing some time with injury.

"He is the best player in the world," Montgomery said of Crosby. "I told our top line, 'Hopefully, I can get you guys out against him,' because I want our best against the best."

The Stars, who split the first two games of the road trip, are 11-8-2 on the season and currently sit in the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

Opposition watch: Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins (7-8-4) have lost four straight games and nine of their last ten. They are coming off a 5-4 overtime loss to Buffalo on Monday. Pittsburgh started the season 6-1-2, but it is 1-7-2 in its past 10 games and has fallen to last place in the Eastern Conference.

Sidney Crosby will return to the lineup after missing the past three games with an upper-body injury. Casey DeSmith will get the start in goal.

Stat pack

The Stars are 4-5-1 on the road.

The Penguins are 3-5-2 at home.

The Stars are 5-7-2 vs. the Eastern Conference.

The Penguins are 5-0-1 vs. the Western Conference with all six games against the Pacific Division.

The Stars rank sixth in the league in goals against at 2.57 per game.

The Penguins rank sixth in goal scoring at 3.37 per game.

Pittsburgh has allowed four goals or more in seven of its last 10 games.

Dallas has scored two goals or fewer in six of its last 10 games.

Tyler Seguin leads the Stars in scoring with 21 points (seven goals, 14 assists).

Evgeni Malkin leads the Penguins in scoring with 27 points (seven goals, 20 assists).

Tonight's game

Who: Dallas Stars at Pittsburgh Penguins

Where: PPG Paints Arena

When: 6:00 p.m.

TV: Fox Sports Southwest Plus

Radio: The Ticket 1310-AM/96.7-FM

Stars projected lineup

Jamie Benn - Tyler Seguin - Alexander Radulov

Mattias Janmark - Jason Spezza - Roope Hintz

Blake Comeau - Radek Faksa - Tyler Pitlick

Valeri Nichushkin - Jason Dickinson - Brett Ritchie

Esa Lindell - Miro Heiskanen

Gavin Bayreuther - Roman Polak

Joel Hanley - Ben Gleason

Anton Khudobin

Landon Bow

Scratched: Gemel Smith

Injured: Ben Bishop (lower body), Julius Honka (illness), Devin Shore (lower body), John Klingberg (hand), Marc Methot (lower body), Connor Carrick (foot), Martin Hanzal (back), Stephen Johns (post-traumatic headaches)

Penguins projected lineup

Jake Guentzel - Sidney Crosby - Patric Hornqvist

Tanner Pearson - Evgeni Malkin - Phil Kessel

Zach Aston-Reese - Derick Brassard - Bryan Rust

Dominik Simon - Riley Sheahan - Derek Grant

Brian Dumoulin - Kris Letang

Jack Johnson - Jamie Oleksiak

Olli Maatta - Juuso Riikola

Casey DeSmith

Matt Murray

Scratched: Chad Ruhwedel, Daniel Sprong

Injured: Justin Schultz (left leg fracture), Matt Cullen (lower body)

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Mark Stepneski has covered the Stars for DallasStars.com since 2012. Follow him on Twitter @StarsInsideEdge.