New Blue Cam Fowler jumped into the lineup coming over from the Anaheim Ducks where he was their all-time leader in goals, assists, and points as a defenseman. Fowler waived his no-trade agreement to join the Blues and will pair with Justin Faulk…he’ll wear #17. Adding an experienced defenseman (991 games) where the current player roster logs significant minutes on the blue line. The hope is to alleviate the ice time of the top 4 defensemen. Matthew Kessel is the odd man out for now as he returns to Springfield. Branden Saad sits tonight with Alexandre Texier taking a turn. Jordan Binnington in the net and Jake Oettinger opposes him.
Blues need to start on time!
First shot of the game for either team didn’t come until over 5 minutes into the period…tight checking to say the least.
Blues go on the powerplay with 12:55 left in the 1st period…Stars are ranked 6th in the league on the kill. The Blues have intense pressure and tape-to-tape passing in the Stars end and as the penalty ends Jordan Kyrou from the slot 20 feet away fires it in…his 12th goal was assisted by Pavel Buchnevich and Robert Thomas. Blues lead 1 to 0 - 9:08 into the period on their 6th shot.
Blues back to the man advantage with 9:46 left in the period. Two shots on the first powerplay…no shots on this second opportunity.
Period 1 ends with the Blues up by 1… shots were 10 to 7 in favor of the Stars, although the Blues out-attempted them 21 to 19…Blues led in the hit department with 12 to the Stars 3.
Stars are 0-6-0 when losing after 1 period…can the Blues make it 7 loses?
Blues take a penalty just over 2 minutes into the period and they tie it up on a one-timer from the slot…1 for 1 for the Stars on the PP at 2:39.
Another Blues penalty at 3:30 in…however they kill this one off…meanwhile the Blues don’t get a shot until over 10 minutes into the period…
Matching penalties with 6:13 left and we go 4 on 4…no damage by either team.
Blues back on the kill with 3:37 left…Binnington with a huge blocker save to keep the game tied…3 shots by Dallas on the PP. And the 2nd period ends tied at 1…Blues with only 3 shots in the period to 14 by Dallas…overall shots are 24 to 10 in favor of the Stars. 48 attempts for Dallas to 29 for #STLBLUES…can you say lopsided?? Binnington the difference!!
LET’S GO BLUES…3rd Period…the race for 2 points…
Blues once again struggle getting shots…1 shot in the first 5 minutes…and the Stars draw a penalty 4:29 into the period. Only one shot on the PP for the Stars.
Blues with only 2 shots and we are 10 minutes into the period…
5 minutes!!
Blues have the edge in play over the last 5 minutes spending most of that time in the Dallas end…but we end the 3rd period tied at 1…and we head to overtime!! Shots 33 to 15 Stars in regulation.
OT!!
Ninth time the Blues have a game go to overtime…only the 2nd for Dallas.
Dallas wins the opening faceoff and controls the puck for the first 2 minutes…Binnington with 3 saves before the Blues get their first chance. Stars break in and on their 37th shot Matt Duchene beats Binnington's high stick side at 2:31…and that ends it 2 to 1. Blues gain a point and are now 14-14-3.
Notes: Thomas extends point streak to 6 games with assists…Thomas with the best +/- rating on the road in the league…Binnington with 35 saves in the game and a .946 save %, deserved a better outcome…Fowler played just shy of 18 minutes and played solid...No Blue had more than 2 shots in the game...