The Dallas Stars don't have any time to take a break after taking on the Ottawa Senators last night. They are back at it again tonight as they take a day trip to St. Louis to take on the Blues tonight. It will be interesting to see if the Stars have any gas left in the tank from the game against Ottawa. With the three-day break that the Stars had this week, there should be no excuse to take care of business tonight against their divisional foe. Here are the three keys of the game tonight against the St. Louis Blues.
Dallas Stars vs. St. Louis Blues Preview: 3. Take care of business against a distracted team
I'm sure you all saw the headlines earlier this week when the St. Louis Blues fired Craig Berube and replaced him with Drew Bannister. It was sort of a sudden firing and it caught some of the players off guard a bit based on some of the interviews. The Blues were able to take care of business against the Senators on Thursday night. However, the sudden firing is probably still circling the locker room. Let's see if the Stars can take advantage of the situation and steal two points on the road against their divisional rival tonight.
Dallas Stars vs. St. Louis Blues Preview: 2. Stop Robert Thomas and Jake Neighbours
The Stars will have a couple of players that they need to keep an eye on tonight on the ice. Robert Thomas and Jake Neighbours will be tasked with overpowering Scott Wedgewood. Thomas currently has 12 goals going into this matchup and Neighbours has 10 goals. Miro Heiskanen and the defensemen need to be ready to help stop the Blues from setting anything up in the Stars' zone. If the Stars can find a way to shut down both of these talented players tonight, they can steal two points on the road in St. Louis.
Dallas Stars vs. St. Louis Blues Preview: 1. Take advantage of the power play opportunities
The Stars need to take advantage of the power play opportunities that the Blues give them tonight. They are currently ranked 7th overall in power play conversion percentage going into this matchup tonight. The Blues' penalty kill percentage is ranked 20th right now. This is a perfect storm for the Stars to improve their power play this season and climb the ranks. If the Stars can take advantage of their power play opportunities tonight, I see Dallas winning the game tonight and bringing home two points.