The Dallas Stars improved their preseason record to 3-1-0 last night with a 4-2 neutral site win over the St. Louis Blues at the Sprint Center in Kansas City last night. Dallas briefly trailed 1-0 early in the game before striking for three consecutive goals to build a lead they would not relinquish.
For Dallas, Kevin Connauton and Travis Morin registered one goal and one assist apiece. Branden Troock and Derek Meech also tallied a goal. Top line center Tyler Seguin picked up two assists, while linemate Jamie Benn had one assist. Curtis McKenzie and Jamie Oleksiak also got onto the scoresheet with a single assist. Anders Lindbà¤ck went the distance in goal for Dallas, stopping 27 of 29 shots.
Robby Fabbri, the Blues' first-round pick in the 2014 NHL Draft, scored for St. Louis off a nice setup by T.J. Oshie. Later, offseason free agent acquisition Paul Stastny scored his first preseason goal in a Blues uniform to cut the team's deficit to 3-2 late in the second period. In goal, starter Jake Allen played the first two periods, yielding three goals. Jordan Binnington took over in the third period, stopping 10 of 11 shots.
The game was a physical and, at times, chippy affair. There was a lot of special teams play. Dallas went 5-for-5 on the penalty kill and 1-for-8 on the power play. However, two of the Stars' even strength goals came immediately after the expiration of St. Louis penalties.
Perhaps most notable in the physical play department, Stars agitator Antoine Roussel immediately went after former Stars forward Steve Ott in response to a crushing hit on Matej Stransky near the midway mark of the first period. Roussel picked up an instigator penalty from the resulting fight with Ott.
The Stars will hold a practice this morning in Frisco. On Monday and Tuesday, the club plays preseason tilts at the American Airlines Center against the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning.
Last night's line combinations for the Stars were as follows:
Jamie Benn – Tyler Seguin – Erik Cole Curtis McKenzie – Travis Morin – Patrick Eaves Antoine Roussel – Radek Faksa – Matej Stransky Derek Hulak – Justin Dowling – Branden Troock
Alex Goligoski – Jyrki Jokipakka Patrik Nemeth – Kevin Connauton Derek Meech – Jamie Oleksiak
Anders Lindbà¤ck [Jussi Rynnà¤s]