The St. Louis just split their most recent home-and-home series with the Vegas Golden Knights, taking one on the road and losing their most recent game at home. Tonight, they try to gain some traction on the Wildcard race with another home bout against their Central Division rival, the Dallas Stars.
This is the second meeting between these two, with one more to go on March 2. In the first matchup, St. Louis gained a point before losing in overtime.
Let’s preview this one.
Round 2, fight!
This is the second matchup of this three-game series, and it is essential to both teams. Both teams secured a point last time, and both teams are either confidently in a playoff position or narrowly outside the race.
The Blues, at 23-22-4 for 50 points, sit in fifth place in the Central division. They are still only three points outside of the last wild card spot in the Western Conference, behind the Calgary Flames. Picking up a win tonight moves the needle ever so closer to a playoff berth. Whether or not they deserve it, with the inability to go on streaks remaining a large problem, remains to be seen.
Sitting in second place in the Central Division is the Dallas Stars. With a record of 30-17-1 for 61 points, they are in a tight race with the Minnesota Wild (60 points) and the Colorado Avalanche (58 points) from positions two through four. This Stars team is ready for a deep playoff run, up and down the board.
Both teams are sitting tied in 22nd, with the same exact power-play percentage at 18.9%. But, the key difference in this game will come down to the penalty kill. Both teams might have the same chance to score with the man advantage, but on the other side, the Blues are 28th-worst, 73.1% on the PK. The Stars are the second-best in the NHL in killing off penalties with a rate of 84.6%.
There are x-factors on both teams, who will surely be the players to watch tonight. For the Blues, Dylan Holloway has been exquisite in creating scoring opportunities over his last five games, handing out five assists over the last five games. For Dallas, outside of their likely Vezina Trophy finalist goaltender, Jake Oettinger, Jason Robertson has been heating up lately. Over his last five games, he has six goals and two assists for eight points.
Some good news for the Blues, forward Zac Bolduc is back in the lineup and getting a crack at the top-six. He will slide in with Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich. The 21-year-old has shown a lot of promise this season, so let’s see what he can do with more ice time. Nathan Walker will be a healthy scratch.
The puck drop will be at 6:00 PM CT.