Are you kidding me? Where has this hockey been all of December? The (17-9-4) Blues take down the Dallas Stars in a 3-0 victory.
On captains night, David Backes scored first. Alexander Steen ripped one from the point and Backes redirected it past Antti Niemi to give the Blues a crucial 1-0 lead.
Forty seconds later, Backes dropped the gloves with Jamie Benn.
But the Blues could have easily scored four more goals that period. They outshot the Stars 17 to 5.
One of those shots came from Dimitri Jaskin as he slid the puck around a Star’s player and hesitated—like Tarasenko—to fire a shot on net. However, Niemi stuck with him and got a piece of his right pad on the shot.
The Stars outshot the Blues 11 to 2 in the second, and 10 to 7 in the third. But the Blues owned the third period.
Backes skated into the Stars’ zone and dropped the puck for Tarasenko, who fired it into the top-right corner to give the Blues a 2-0 lead. The goal was Tarasenko’s 17th of the season. Also, Backes’ assist gave him a Gordie Howe hat trick.
With about five minutes left in the third, Scottie Upshall found himself on a breakaway. He tried Tarasenko’s patented tuck-in move, but Niemi got his left pad on it. However, Ryan Reaves was in the crease to knock it in, securing a 3-0 lead for the Blues.
The Blues held their lead to beat the (22-6-2) Dallas Stars 3-0, thanks to Jake Allen’s 26 saves. The shutout was Allen’s fourth of the season.
Tune in tonight as the Blues go back-to-back against the Colorado Avalanche, 5:00 p.m.
Photo: Jason Vinlove/USA TODAY Sports
