The Blues defense has been very good thus far, to say the least. St Louis goalies are only facing 23.4 shots per game, which is 2nd best in the NHL. To help boost the Blues’ defense, former Maple Leaf Carl Gunnarsson will be making his St Louis debut, which should only make a good defense better.
That being said, the Dallas Stars have one of the highest powered offenses in the league, averaging 3.50 goals per game.
Dallas is coming off a 7-5 loss to the New York Islanders this past Saturday, but had won 4 of their last 5 games prior to being defeated by the Isles. Dallas has netted at least 4 goals in half of their games, and have shown the ability to be more than a handful offensively.
St Louis is coming off a signature win, defeating the Chicago Blackhawks Saturday night at Scottrade. Dmitrij Jaskin made his presence felt, scoring a goal that proved to be the difference in the game. Alex Pietrianglo also dropped a couple of assists in the win. Goalie Brian Elliott denied 22 of the 24 shots he faced, including stopping 18 of 19 even strength shots.
WHO’S HOT
Blues winger Jaden Schwartz. Schwartz is currently tied for 6th in the league with 5 goals. He was moved to the Backes line prior to Saturday night’s game against Chicago and fit in nicely, tallying a goal in 18:50 of ice time.
WHO’S NOT
Dallas goal tender Kari Lehtonen. Lehtonen’s 2.73 GAA (Goals Against Average) currently has him sitting 36th in the NHL in that category.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Pace. This game should be very high paced. Dallas currently has 3 players in the top 15 in points. Tyler Seguin with 13 (1st), Jason Spezza with 11 (14th), and Jamie Benn with 10 (15th). Dallas is also a team that doesn’t play a lot of defense, allowing 3.50 goals per game. Look for St Louis’ defensive depth and talent to take control of the Dallas offense and force the Stars to play transition defense.
Dallas won the season series last year 3-2
NOTE
Paul Stastny skated Monday with his teammates for the first time since being injured October 18th. He participated in light drills and puck handling, but no contact. Stastny is getting closer to returning to the lineup but no timetable is set for his return.
Puck drops at 7:30 PM CST. This game can be seen on FS-MW and heard on KMOX 1120
-Photo by Getty Images
