At the Rink: Blues at Stars

Sunday, 03.15.2015 / 5:00 PM | Steve Hunt  - NHL.com Correspondent

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 PorterDavid Backes - T.J. Oshie

Jaden SchwartzJori LehteraVladimir Tarasenko

Alexander SteenPaul StastnyDmitrij Jaskin

Patrik BerglundSteve OttRyan Reaves

Carl GunnarssonAlex Pietrangelo

Jay BouwmeesterZbynek Michalek

Barret JackmanRobert Bortuzzo

Jake Allen

Brian Elliott

Injured: Olli Jokinen (upper body), Kevin Shattenkirk (abdominal surgery)

Scratched: Chris Butler, Marcel Goc, Petteri Lindbohm

STARS

Jamie BennCody EakinTyler Seguin

Antoine RousselJason SpezzaAles Hemsky

Curtis McKenzieShawn HorcoffBrett Ritchie

Patrick EavesVernon FiddlerColton Sceviour

Alex Goligoski - jamie Oleksiak

Jordie BennJason Demers

Patrik NemethJyrki Jokipakka

Kari Lehtonen

Jhonas Enroth

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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