Blues meet Stars as division battles heat up

DALLAS - With Dallas just two points behind the St. Louis Blues in the Central Division standings, Friday's game between the Blues and Stars certainly means a lot.
"We know for sure that Dallas is going to be ready for the game, and they've got a great team," Blues Head Coach Mike Yeo said. "They've been rolling for a long time and they've been firing on all cylinders."
Fans can follow the action live at 7:30 p.m. Friday on FOX Sports Midwest, FOX Sports GO or KMOX 1120 AM.

THE MATCHUP

BLUES The Blues had a 3-0 lead in the third period on Tuesday in Nashville, but the Predators rallied back with three goals to force overtime. Eventually, Filip Forsberg would score on a penalty shot in overtime to ensure the Blues only grabbed one point in Nashville.
Jay Bouwmeester, Alexander Steen and Jaden Schwartz scored for the Blues, while Carter Hutton made 29 saves.
"Things happen through the course of a game, and you have to be able to deal with that," Yeo said after the game. "Obviously, when they had a push and they got some momentum, it seemed to put us on our heels a little too much."

STARS Dallas had won five straight games before getting embarassed on their home ice Sunday.
The Vancouver Canucks scored three goals in the first period to jump out to a big lead and goalie Jacob Markstrom made 30 saves to shutout the Stars, 6-0.
"I think the hardest-working team won," Stars captain Jamie Benn told NHL.com. "They jumped on us early. Three goals in the first is tough to come back from. We just didn't have our game tonight."
"We're giving up more (odd-man rushes), which is a recipe for disaster," Stars coach Ken Hitchcock said. "We tried to put the brakes on it and weren't able to, so now we've paid the price and this should get everybody's attention."
HEAD-TO-HEAD The Blues are 2-1-0 against the Stars this season but lost their last matchup 4-2 on Dec. 29 at American Airlines Center. Prior to that game, the Blues had won five straight against the Stars.
The Blues are 11-3-0 against the Stars in their last 13 matchups overall and have points in six of their last seven road games (4-1-2).
The Blues are 9-5-2 against Central Division teams this season.

HOT VS. DALLAS

• Alex Pietrangelo has eight points in his last seven games (three goals, five assists)
  - Paul Stastny has 11 points in his last nine games (three goals, eight assists)
  - Brayden Schenn has six points in his last five games (four goals, two assists)
  - Vladimir Tarasenko has a goal in four straight games
  - Alexander Steen has a three-game point streak (four assists)
  - Jake Allen is 8-3-0 with a .922 save-percentage, a 2.28 goals-against average and three shutouts in 11 career starts against the Stars.

BLUE NOTES

• Jay Bouwmeester is expected to play in his 1,100th career NHL game, becoming the 10th active player and the second active defensemen to reach that milestone. Bouwmeester has four points in his last five games (one goal, three assists).
  - Jaden Schwartz has six points in his last seven games (four goals, two assists). The Blues are 18-3-1 when Schwartz scores at least one power-play goal in a game.
  - With two assists Tuesday in Nashville, Tarasenko has passed the 50-point mark for the fourth consecutive season.