Blues at Stars preview

BLUES (34-21-4) at STARS (33-20-4)
8 p.m. ET; NHLN, FS-SW, FS-MW, NHL.TV

Methot has missed 41 of the Stars' 42 games since Nov. 6 because of a knee injury. However, forward Antoine Roussel (back spasms) won't play for the Stars, who trail the Blues by two points for third place in the Central Division.
St. Louis will start goaltender Jake Allen for the third time in the past four games. Defenseman Colton Parayko will play after leaving practice early Thursday with what coach Mike Yeo called "tightness."

Players to watch

Blues forward Alexander Steen has 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in his past 13 games.
Stars forward Alexander Radulov has 21 points (seven goals, 14 assists) in his past 16 games.

They said it

"I haven't played in a while. You always have that immediate nervousness that sets in just making sure that I can come in and do the job that I need to do." -- Stars defenseman Marc Methot
"It's kind of neat. It's another sign that you're getting kind of older. It's kind of like birthdays. After a certain point, you don't want to know." -- Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester, who will play in his 1,100th NHL game

Blues projected lineup

Alexander Steen -- Paul Stastny -- Vladimir Tarasenko
Jaden Schwartz -- Brayden Schenn -- Patrik Berglund
Ivan Barbashev -- Vladimir Sobotka -- Dmitrij Jaskin
Scottie Upshall -- Kyle Brodziak -- Chris Thorburn
Carl Gunnarsson -- Alex Pietrangelo
Jay Bouwmeester -- Colton Parayko
Robert Bortuzzo -- Vince Dunn
Jake Allen
Carter Hutton
Scratched:Chris Butler, Oskar Sundqvist](https://www.nhl.com/player/oskar-sundqvist-8476897?season=20172018)
Injured:Joel Edmundson (forearm)

Stars projected lineup

Jamie Benn -- Tyler Seguin -- Alexander Radulov
Remi Elie -- Radek Faksa -- Tyler Pitlick
Mattias Janmark -- Jason Spezza -- Devin Shore
Gemel Smith -- Martin Hanzal -- Brett Ritchie
Esa Lindell -- John Klingberg
Dan Hamhuis -- Greg Pateryn
Marc Methot -- Stephen Johns
Ben Bishop
Kari Lehtonen
Scratched:Jason Dickinson, Julius Honka
Injured:Antoine Roussel (back spasms)

Status report

Other than Allen, the Blues will dress the same lineup that played in a 4-3 overtime loss at the Nashville Predators on Tuesday. Forward Nikita Soshnikov, acquired Thursday in a trade from the Toronto Maple Leafs, isn't expected to report for 7-10 days while he obtains a U.S. work visa. ... Smith will replace Roussel and play for the first time in six games. Dickinson was recalled from Texas of the American Hockey League on Friday.

Stat pack

The Blues have lost two in a row but are 8-4-1 in their past 13 games. ... The Stars are 5-1-0 in their the past six games and 11-4-1 in their past 15. They have scored four goals or more in four of past six games and have held opponents to two goals or fewer in nine of their past 13.