Dallas Stars Look To Finish Back-To-Back Strong vs. Blues
By Josh Clark
The Dallas Stars knocked off the Chicago Blackhawks in dominating fashion last night. They will look to replicate the result tonight against the St. Louis Blues.
If you did not get a chance to catch the Dallas Stars’ game last night, you missed out. The Stars blasted the Chicago Blackhawks with ease and officially took sole control of first place in the Central Division. But as soon as they thought they would be resting, they are right back in action against a team that has a shot at dethroning them: the St. Louis Blues.
The game will be broadcasted on Fox Sports Southwest (FSSW) and the NHL Network, and you can also hear it on 1310AM/96.7FM The Ticket. Puck drop is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
Records and Scores
The Dallas Stars fended off the Blackhawks last night in front of a passionate home crowd, and it propelled them in the standings. Their record of 41-20-8 with 90 points is the sole best in the Central Division and Western Conference. Their most recent victory was, of course, the 5-2 stomping of the Blackhawks last night. They are 3-1-1 in their last five contests.
The St. Louis Blues are right behind them and looking to take over first place. Their record of 40-20-9 with 89 points is good enough for second place in the division and conference. They played last night as well, defeating the surging Anaheim Ducks 5-2 in St. Louis. They are 5-0-0 in their last five games.
Storylines
Undermanned? No problem at all
The Dallas Stars did a very impressive job last night in defeating the Blackhawks in such a substantial fashion. But there was definitely something special about last night’s win. Sure, it was by a whopping three goals. Sure, Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin broke out of their goal slumps and the Stars chased Corey Crawford from the Chicago net.
But the craziest thing that happened was that the Stars played the game without three main starters on defense. The even crazier part is that they probably played their best game defensively in months. Against Chicago. All of this may be difficult to process, but rookie Stephen Johns, Patrik Nemeth, and Jamie Oleksiak stepped up in a big way in the absence of John Klingberg, Jordie Benn, and Jason Demers.
The young blood played physical and held the offensive-crazy Blackhawks to a mere 23 shots. Some outstanding play from the new group of six, and the Stars will need the same play to be back in action tonight against the Blues.
Blues surging at just the right time
The St. Louis Blues have been hitting all the right buttons over the past few games, and it has helped them move back near the top of the Central Division ranks. The last time the Stars met the Blues in Dallas, they delivered an impressive 3-0 blow. St. Louis was making their way along at that point, but endured an ugly 5-3-4 record during January that seemed to put them in third place in the Central for good.
Since February 1st, the Blues are an astounding 12-4-1, which has helped close the gap between them and the Stars. They now rest just one point behind Dallas for first place in the division, and both teams have played the same number of games. So, a lot is riding on the game tonight for both clubs.
Offense may be scarce
The Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues have been playing plenty of “defense-first” games this season. Out of the four games they have played this season, the Stars are 1-1-2. The Blues, on the other hand, are 3-1-0. But each of the games has involved low scoring and not much offensive firepower.
Out of all of the teams in the Central Division that the Stars have played this season, they have scored the least amount of goals against the Blues. In four games, only 14 goals have been scored between the two teams. The Stars have scored a measly six to the Blues’ eight. Half of the games have gone to extra time, with the Blues prevailing in both. We’ll see if that trend holds suit in tonight’s matchup between two tired teams.
Kari Lehtonen riding hot streak
Dallas Stars’ goaltender Kari Lehtonen is working wonders in the crease over the past few games. While fellow goaltender Antti Niemi works his way through a slump, Lehtonen has played in five straight games and started in four of them. He is 3-0-1 over the span and is averaging 2.25 goals against. Not bad at all.
The real question is that in a critical time, will head coach Lindy Ruff go with Lehtonen on the second night of a back-to-back or defer to Niemi? It’s an optional skate for the Stars this morning in Frisco, so we may not find out until just before puck drop.
Injury report
The Dallas Stars will be minus the services of F Patrick Sharp (lower body), D John Klingberg (lower body), D Jordie Benn (lower body), and D Jason Demers (shoulder).
The St. Louis Blues will be without F Steve Ott (hamstring), G Brian Elliott (lower body), and F Alexander Steen (lower body).
Projected lines
Dallas Stars
Jamie Benn – Cody Eakin – Patrick Eaves
Valeri Nichushkin – Jason Spezza – Tyler Seguin
Antoine Roussel – Radek Faksa – Ales Hemsky
Mattias Janmark – Vernon Fiddler – Colton Sceviour / Brett Ritchie
Johnny Oduya – Stephen Johns
Patrik Nemeth – Jamie Oleksiak
Antti Niemi
Kari Lehtonen
More stars: Colton Sceviour Helping Lead Stars Through Tough Times
St. Louis Blues
Jaden Schwartz – Jori Lehtera – Vladimir Tarasenko
Robby Fabbri – Paul Stastny – Troy Brouwer
Patrik Berglund – David Backes – Dmitrij Jaskin
Scottie Upshall – Kyle Brodziak – Ryan Reaves
Jay Bouwmeester – Alex Pietrangelo
Carl Gunnarsson – Kevin Shattenkirk
Joel Edmundson – Colton Parayko
Next: Stars Send Blackhawks Home Bruised 5-2
Prediction
It’s definitely a tough situation for Dallas. They probably cannot go to their red hot goalie with a lot of confidence considering it is a back-to-back, and both of the Blues’ goaltenders have had excellent success against the Stars multiple times this season. Not to mention that the young defense will be tested on such short rest.
But even with all of these potential obstacles, I still like the Stars in this one. I have the Dallas Stars getting it done for Rich Peverley on “Pevs Protects Night” and fending off the Blues 3-2 to remain atop the division and conference.