TEAM SNAPSHOTS
BLUES The St. Louis Blues won the first matchup in the home-and-home set by beating the Stars 4-1 in Dallas on Tuesday. After a 1-0 deficit in the first period, the Blues scored four unanswered goals to take control of the game.
Justin Faulk scored the game winner with a snap shot in the third, threading the puck through multiple skaters on its way past goaltender Jake Oettinger. Tuesday was Faulk's first game back after missing time in COVID-19 protocols.
Colton Parayko, Ryan O'Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko also added goals for the Blues. Charlie Lindgren got the win in the net - his fourth in as many appearances- and continued his stellar play since his call-up from Springfield.
The Blues continue to play well despite missing several key players, recording points in six straight games and nine of their last 10. They currently sit at 16-8-5 on the season, good for 37 points and second in the Central Division as of Thursday afternoon.
Jordan Binnington was cleared from COVID-19 protocols on Wednesday and practiced with the team Thursday as he gets ready for his return to play.
STARS The Dallas Stars will make their first trip to St. Louis on Friday since the 2019-20 season when they fell to the Blues in a shootout on Feb. 29, 2020.
The Stars are looking to find their footing again after an up-and-down stretch over the last few weeks. Beginning with their first matchup with the Blues this season on Nov. 20, the Stars won seven straight games but have since lost four in a row.
Dallas' eight-game home winning streak was snapped with the Blues' win on Tuesday night.
Riley Damiani scored Dallas' lone goal in the 4-1 loss, the first of his career in his NHL debut.
Stars goaltender Ben Bishop announced his retirement this week due to health concerns after an accomplished NHL career. Drafted by the Blues in 2005, Bishop played 413 games in net for five different franchises.
Ahead of Friday's matchup, Dallas is 13-11-2, worth 28 points and sixth place in the Central Division.
HEAD-TO-HEAD The Blues and Stars are an even 1-1-0 in the season series so far, both games being decided by scores of 4-1. Excluding the 2019 playoffs and the 2020 bubble, St. Louis has won five of their last seven matchups, with their last loss at home coming Feb. 8, 2020.
The finale to this week's home-and-home set at Enterprise Center leaves one more matchup remaining in the season series - another bout in St. Louis on Jan. 9.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
BLUES Vladimir Tarasenko's power-play goal in Dallas was his ninth of the season, eight of which have come in the third period. The recently-turned 30-year-old forward has eclipsed his point total from the last two years combined, with 26 on the season.
STARS Forward Jason Robertson recorded his 21st point of the season with an assist on Tuesday, and now shares the team lead in points and assists. Robertson is having another impressive season a year after finishing second place for the Calder Trophy, the NHL's Rookie of the Year Award.
MILESTONE
Ivan Barbashev is set to play in his 300th career NHL game on Friday.
The reeling Dallas Stars will try to jump-start their sputtering offense when they visit the St. Louis Blues on Friday.
The Stars fell to the Blues 4-1 at home Tuesday for their fourth consecutive loss. They have scored just two goals in their past three games.
They played without key forwards Roope Hintz and Alexander Radulov on Tuesday, and their only goal came from a rookie making his debut. Both were out with an illness.
"When you get one goal, and it's from (Riley) Damiani's first NHL game, that's incredibly disappointing in a big game like this," Stars coach Rick Bowness said. "We had some guys who, I'll have to check the video to see if they even played. I couldn't find them on the ice.
"Unless you want to show up and get your nose dirty and get involved in a game like that, then you're a complete non-factor and we had a few of those guys that were complete no-shows. We have no chance if we have guys that don't want to show up and play in those games."
The Stars got both Hintz and Radulov back on the ice for Thursday's practice. They will continue their stretch of 10 consecutive games against Central Division rivals with this rematch against the Blues at Enterprise Center.
The Blues have persevered through extensive injury and COVID-19 issues. They put Robert Thomas and Brayden Schenn on injured reserve Monday and moved David Perron to long-term injured reserve.
Also sidelined are forwards Jordan Kyrou, Klim Kostin and James Neal along with defenseman Jake Walman and goaltender Ville Husso. Defenseman Scott Perunovich missed Tuesday's game with a non-COVID-19 illness, but he was back for Thursday's practice.
Defenseman Justin Faulk and Tyler Bozak returned from COVID-19 protocols Tuesday -- and Faulk scored in his first game back. Goaltender Jordan Binnington returned from protocols Wednesday, prompting the trade of fill-in netminder Jon Gillies to New Jersey.
The Blues have earned points in nine of their past 10 games while going 6-1-3 despite their casualties. Coach Craig Berube credited the influx of AHL players for helping the team embrace a more defensive-minded style.
"A lot of times, when you simplify it and dumb it down and play a hard, straightforward game, you have success," Berube said. "Really, it's not a complicated game, hockey. It's a simple game, and when you play a simple game of hockey, you give yourself a chance to win in my opinion.
"Limit things. Limit turnovers. Play direct. Make it hard on the other team, and that's what we're doing right now. We're getting real good goaltending, and we're getting real good team play."
Binnington returned to practice, but the Blues could ride AHL call-up Charlie Lindgren a bit longer. Lindgren (4-0-0, 1.29 goals-against average) became the second goaltender in Blues history to win his first four starts with the team.
"It's really fun right now," Lindgren said. "The team's playing well, and we've got a great group of guys. Winning always makes everything a blast, so it's a lot of fun."
