Six points behind the San Jose Sharks in the Western Conference wildcard chase but with two games in hand, Lindy Ruff's Dallas Stars (26-22-8) face a tough road challenge on Tuesday night as they face Ken Hitchcock's St. Louis Blues (37-15-4). Game time at the Scotttrade Center is 7:00 p.m. CST. The game will be televised locally on Fox Sports Southwest.
This is the third of five meetings this season between the Stars and Blues. The Stars have fared reasonably well thus far in the season series, taking three of four possible points (1-0-1).
The Stars enter this game coming off a 4-1 loss in Denver on Saturday to the Colorado Avalanche. With recently acquired goaltender Jhonas Enroth making his Stars debut, the njury-riddled Stars were playing on the second night of a back-to-back game set. Jason Spezza's mid-third period tally stood as the lone Dallas goal. Enroth stopped 26 of 30 shots.
The Stars will be without the services of top scorer Tyler Seguin (knee injury) for three to six weeks. Patrick Eaves (concussion) is out indefinitely. Ales Hemsky (lower body) is officially on a day-to-day basis but is out for Tuesday. Valeri Nichushkin (hip surgery) and Patrik Nemeth (severe forearm laceration from a skate cut) remain in injured reserve.
St. Louis enters this game looking to build on a three-game winning streak. The club has been on a tear since January and sports a 15-2-1 record over the last 18 games.
The Blues enter this game coming off a 2-1 five-round shootout road win over the Florida Panthers on Sunday. Jaden Schwartz scored in regulation, while Jori Lehterठnetted the shootout winner. Winning goalie Brian Elliot stopped 40 of 41 shots in regulation and overtime before turning back four of five attempts in the skills competition.
St. Louis is missing All-Star defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk (abdomen) from the lineup. Left winger Chris Porter (leg) is out.