BLUES (43-20-5) at STARS (32-27-10)
TV: FS-MW, FS-SW
DALLAS -- Neither the St. Louis Blues nor the Dallas Stars held a morning skate Sunday in advance of their game at American Airlines Center.
St. Louis (43-20-5, 91 points) played Saturday, losing 3-1 at home to the Minnesota Wild, and is beginning a six-game, 10-day road trip.
Goalie Jake Allen will start for the Blues. He hasn't played since March 1 at the Vancouver Canucks.
Dallas (32-27-10, 74 points), which is starting a four-game homestand after going 4-1-0 during its recent road trip, held an optional practice Saturday at its headquarters in Frisco, Texas. Rookie defenseman John Klingberg, who was expected to return Sunday after missing the past two games with an upper-body injury, was ruled out by coach Lindy Ruff about 90 minutes before game time.
“John’s a good player and we’ll get him in as soon as he’s ready,” Ruff said.
The Stars last played Friday, a 4-2 win at the Washington Capitals.
Goalie Kari Lehtonen, who is 8-1-2 in his past 11 decisions, is the likely starter for Dallas, his fourth consecutive start.
Here are the projected lineups:
BLUES
Chris Porter – David Backes - T.J. Oshie
Jaden Schwartz – Jori Lehtera – Vladimir Tarasenko
Alexander Steen – Paul Stastny – Dmitrij Jaskin
Patrik Berglund – Steve Ott – Ryan Reaves
Carl Gunnarsson – Alex Pietrangelo
Jay Bouwmeester – Zbynek Michalek
Barret Jackman – Robert Bortuzzo
Injured: Olli Jokinen (upper body), Kevin Shattenkirk (abdominal surgery)
Scratched: Chris Butler, Marcel Goc, Petteri Lindbohm
STARS
Jamie Benn – Cody Eakin – Tyler Seguin
Antoine Roussel – Jason Spezza – Ales Hemsky
Curtis McKenzie – Shawn Horcoff – Brett Ritchie
Patrick Eaves – Vernon Fiddler – Colton Sceviour
Alex Goligoski - jamie Oleksiak
Patrik Nemeth – Jyrki Jokipakka
Injured: Trevor Daley (lower body), Travis Moen (upper body), Valeri Nichushkin (hip), John Klingberg (upper body)
Scratched: Ryan Garbutt
Status report: Berglund will likely be appearing in his 500th career game. … Garbutt is a healthy scratch for a third consecutive game.
Who's hot: Oshie, who leads the NHL in points per game on the road, has five points (four assists) in his past three road games. … Stastny has nine points (five goals) in his past six games against Dallas. … Fiddler has five goals in his past six games, giving him a career-high 12 for the season. Horcoff has four points (two goals, two assists) in his past five games. Sceviour has four points (three assists) in his past four games.
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