Blues at Stars
The Dallas Stars have reclaimed sole possession of first place in the power-packed Central Division, but they will face one of the teams breathing down their necks when they host the St. Louis Blues on Saturday. The Stars knocked off Chicago 5-2 in a showdown for first place on Friday to move one point ahead of St. Louis and two clear of the Blackhawks.
Friday's matchup marked the beginning of a five-game homestand for Dallas and the first of six straight contests against opponents sitting in the top three in their respective divisions. The Stars had lost eight of 11 (3-5-3) before dominating Chicago and now will look to reverse a trend that has seen them lose five of their last six to the Blues, including a 2-1 loss at St. Louis on Feb. 16. The Blues extended their winning streak to a season high-tying five games with a 5-2 thumping of visiting Anaheim on Friday. St. Louis also hits a rugged portion of the schedule as it kicks off a five-game road trip.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, NHL Network, FSN Midwest (St. Louis), FSN Southwest (Dallas)
ABOUT THE BLUES (40-20-9): Vladimir Tarasenko had been in a bit of a goal-scoring slump - at least by his lofty standards - with six tallies in his previous 25 games, but he netted a pair of goals and set up another in Friday's drubbing of the Ducks. Prior to Friday's game, the Blues announced they signed defenseman Carl Gunnarsson, who was set to become an unrestricted free agent, to a three-year, $8.7 million contract extension. "He's an underrated player," coach Ken Hitchcock said of Gunnarsson. "He's a great complimentary player. You need guys like that."
ABOUT THE STARS (41-20-8): With captain Jamie Benn mired in a seven-game goal-scoring drought and Tyler Seguin failing to find the scoresheet in five straight contests, coach Lindy Ruff elected to split up his top two scorers, and the result was a goal and assist from each player on Friday. Conversely, Jason Spezza remained on a tear, scoring in his fifth consecutive game - and adding an assist for his 800th career point - to give him eight goals in the last nine contests and 26 for the season. Following a slump during which he lost four straight decisions, Kari Lehtonen is 3-0-1 in his last four starts.
OVERTIME
1. Blues G Jake Allen, who won his fifth straight start Friday, takes a 3-1-0 record and 1.42 goals-against average versus Dallas into Saturday's clash.
2. The Stars have killed off 13 short-handed situations over their last four games.
3. Blues Fs Alex Steen and Steve Ott, along with G Brian Elliott, will accompany the team on the road trip.