"Five days after airing publicly his unhappiness over being scratched and how Mike Yeo was using him, defenseman Marek Zidlicky was unchained and released from the coach's doghouse Saturday night against the Dallas Stars.

Of course, if the veteran had not played with defenseman Clayton Stoner out due to a lower-body injury, that would have been a sure sign that Yeo was not willing to forgive and forget after he and General Manager Chuck Fletcher met with Zidlicky during separate meetings.

"This is how we've done things all year -- we've given guys chances to respond," Yeo said. "The reason we took Zids out of the lineup in the first place was not to punish him or try to make any point. It was hopefully to get him to find another level in his game. We tried some other things, and that didn't work. Hopefully this will."

Before Saturday's game, Zidlicky was a minus-9 in his past 13 games -- minus-5 in his past two. He had no goals in 34 games and only 38 shots (1.1 a game) -- not enough for a big-shot defenseman.

"His shot totals aren't high enough," Yeo said. "Hopefully when he's out there, he puts that upon his shoulders. He's a guy that can carry the power play by himself.""