Dallas Stars Aim To Get Back On Track Against St.Louis Blues
By Marcus Gatto
The Dallas Stars will try to get back on track and keep their slim playoff hopes alive when the St.Louis Blues visit the AAC tonight. This matchup will mark the fourth and final contest between the two teams. The Stars are 2-0-1 against the Blues this season with the most recent matchup being a 4-1 Stars victory. In this outing Stars captain Jamie Benn scored his first career hat trick. Puck drop is scheduled for 730pm CST and can be seen on FS-SW.
Records and Scores
The Dallas Stars suffered a crippling 5-3 defeat at the hands of the Calgary Flames on Monday evening. The Stars had the chance to close the gap between them and 8th place Winnipeg to four points if they had beat the Flames. Instead, the Flames came out hard in the second period scoring three consecutive goals. The Stars are still mathematically alive but will need to win every remaining game as well as get some help from other teams. The Stars are one of the league’s best in their last ten games with a record of 7-3-0.
The St.Louis Blues enter tonight’s contest sitting in second place in the central division with 99 points. This season they will be attempting to shrug their playoff demons and make a deep run. In past years, the Blues have strutted their way through the regular season with ease only to be eliminated early in the playoffs. They will get a chance to see their division rival Chicago twice in the next four games. This should be great preparation for the Blues against the team who they will most likely meet in the first round.
Storylines
Nichushkin Ready?
Tonight may mark the return of Stars big winger Valeri Nichushkin. Nichushkin has been out for 5 months after undergoing hip surgery to fix a lingering groin problem. Nichushkin has played in two games for the Texas Stars (AHL) and is expected to get into another on Wednesday night before being recalled. Nichushkin has been given high praise from Texas Stars head coach Derek Laxdal for his recent play in the minors. Laxdal told reporters that Nichushkin was an obvious talent who was the best on the ice through his first two AHL games. Nichushkin originally started on the second line down in Texas but quickly found himself slated on the top line in both even-strength and powerplay situations. It will be interesting to see where Nichushkin fits into Lindy Ruff’s lineup when he returns. He spent the majority of his rookie season alongside Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. However, Nichushkin may not be ready for those heavy minutes right away. Expect him to see some time with Benn and Seguin but primarily alongside Jason Spezza.
Injury Report
The Stars recently sent Brett Ritchie and Curtis McKenzie back to Texas (AHL) so that may mean Travis Moen and Nichushkin may be ready for a return. For now they are listed as day-to-day.
The bolstering Blues are a fairly healthy bunch as well. The only question marks for tonight’s game will be Vladimir Tarasenko (Lower Body Injury) and Alexander Steen (Lower Body Injury) who are both listed as day-to-day.
Projected Lineups
Dallas Stars
Jamie Benn- Cody Eakin-Tyler Seguin
Ales Hemsky- Jason Spezza- Valeri Nichushkin
Antoine Roussel- Vernon Fiddler- Ryan Garbutt
Travis Moen- Shawn Horcoff- Colton Sceviour
Alex Goligoski- John Klingberg
Patrik Nemeth- Trevor Daley
Jyrki Jokipakka- Jason Demers
Kari Lehtonen
Jhonas Enroth
St Louis Blues
Jaden Schwartz- Paul Stastny- T.J. Oshie
Dmitrij Jaskin- David Backes- Patrik Berglund
Chris Porter- Jori Lehtera- Olli Jokinen
Steve Ott- Marcel Goc- Ryan Reaves
Jay Bouwmeester- Alex Pietrangelo
Zbynek Michalek- Kevin Shattenkirk
Barret Jackman- Robert Bortuzzo
Brian Elliot
Jake Allen
Prediction
The Stars have had some good success against the Blues this season already (2-1-1). With the return of Nichushkin, the Stars would look even better than they have in the past month. The Dallas Stars will earn a 4-2 victory tonight.