Coming off a 3-2 road loss to the Florida Panthers in their opening game of the preseason, Lindy Ruff's Dallas Stars are in St. Louis on Thursday to take on former Dallas coach Ken Hitchcock's Blues. Game time at the Scottrade Center is 7:00 p.m. CDT.
In Tuesday's game, the Stars trailed 3-0 in the third period before making a late rally that came up a bit short. Tyler Seguin and Jason Demers scored in the latter half of the final stanza to bring the Stars back to within a goal. Other Dallas regulars who played in the preseason opener included John Klingberg, Antoine Roussel, Valeri Nichushkin, Jyrki Jokipakka and Jamie Oleksiak. Goaltending prospect Jack Campbell went the distance in net, stopping 32 of 35 shots in a losing effort.
The Blues and Columbus Blue Jackets held split-squad games to open the preseason, with each team winning on its home ice (3-1 in Columbus, 5-2 in St. Louis). Paul Stastny, Alexander Steen, Vladimir Tarasenko, Alex Pietrangelo and Kevin Shattenkirk are among the St. Louis regulars expected to suit up against the Stars on Thursday. Brian Elliot will get the start in goal.
On Wednesday, the Stars made three roster cuts: defensemen Aaron Haydon, Alex Peters and Brett Pollock. As of Thursday morning, the preseason roster stands at 53 players.