Preview: Blues vs. Stars

BLUES VS. STARS

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TEAM SNAPSHOTS

BLUES An overtime goal from Jakub Vrana 2:51 into overtime spoiled what otherwise was a memorable Opening Night for the St. Louis Blues as they raised their first-ever Stanley Cup championship banner to the rafters at Enterprise Center.
The Blues rode the emotional wave early, getting first-period goals from Sammy Blais and Alex Pietrangelo before surrendering two goals in the final two periods and eventually earning just one point in overtime.
"You never like to give up a lead, let alone a 2-0 lead," Blues goalie Jordan Binnington said. "But you know, we've just got to keep working and just stick to the game plan and have a little bit more tenacity, I guess. I think it'll come. It was game one, a lot of emotions tonight. Not the right outcome, and hopefully we will get back at it next game."
"I like the start, for sure," Blues Head Coach Craig Berube added. "I thought our guys fed off the start of the game and what went on. After that, we weren't the same."
The Blues will be seeking their first win of the season Saturday against the Dallas Stars.

STARS Roope Hintz scored, Joe Pavelski had an assist in his debut in Dallas and Ben Bishop made 18 saves, but the Stars dropped their season opener 2-1 to the Eastern Conference Champion Boston Bruins on Thursday night.
"It's a game you would like to have being the first one at home and the fans were great," Bishop told NHL.com. "it's unfortunate and was kind of a bad start by myself. I thought we did a good job trying to come back there."
"You just keep going," Pavelski added. "It was a good effort from the guys. We did a lot of good things. We can build off some, just got to find an extra goal out there and everything's all right."
The Stars lost defenseman Roman Polak to a scary injury when he went into the boards awkwardly in the second period. Polak left the game on a stretcher and went to the hospital for evaluation. In addition, forward Blake Comeau was hit in the face with a puck and forward Jason Dickinson (upper-body) also left the game and did not return. None of the injured players are expected to be in the lineup Saturday for Dallas.
HEAD-TO-HEAD Double overtime won't be possible Saturday when the teams meet for the first time since that epic Game 7 thriller back in May.
Saturday's matchup is the first of five meetings between the division rivals this season. The Blues have won seven of the last nine meetings at Enterprise Center and have one power-play goal in each of their seven wins.

HOT VS. DALLAS

• David Perron has points in three straight games against the Stars (two goals, two assists).
  - Vladimir Tarasenko has nine points in his last 10 games against Dallas (seven goals, two assists).
  - Jaden Schwartz has six points in his last eight games vs. the Stars (two goals, four assists).
  - Justin Faulk has a point in back-to-back games against the Stars (one goal, one assist).

BLUE NOTES

With his next point, Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo will become just the second defenseman in franchise history to record 400 points with the Blues. Al MacInnis is the Blues' all-time points leader for the franchise with 452 points. Pietrangelo will also become just the 18th active defenseman in the League to reach the milestone… Ryan O'Reilly recorded two assists on Wednesday night against the Capitals, eclipsing 500 career points… The first 12,000 fans through the doors will receive a Stanley Cup champions replica banner courtesy of Ameren Missouri.