Blues at Stars preview

BLUES (35-26-4) at STARS (36-23-5)
2 p.m. ET; FS-SW, FS-MW, NHL.TV

The Stars, 3-4-1 in their past eight games following a five-game winning streak, hold the first wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference. They entered Friday three points ahead of the Blues and Anaheim Ducks, and trailed the Minnesota Wild by two points for third place in the Central Division.
The Blues are 1-6-1 in their past eight games after going 6-2-0 in their previous eight.
The home team has won each of the first three games between the teams this season, including a 2-1 win by the Stars on Feb. 16.

Players to watch

Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko has eight points (five goals, three assists) in his past nine games. He has two goals and one assist in three games against the Stars this season.
Stars forward Tyler Seguin has five goals and two assists in a four-game point streak after having no points in his previous four games. He scored twice in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.

They said it

"Special teams are going to be a real important part of the game, and we'll have to be ready to go." -- Blues coach Mike Yeo
"Most coaches are nuts. We'll change in a second. We look at twosomes; we don't look at threesomes. I know that this time of the year, if it's not working, don't sit on it." -- Stars coach Ken Hitchcock on midgame line changes

Blues projected lineup

Alexander Steen -- Ivan Barbashev -- Vladimir Tarasenko
Jaden Schwartz -- Brayden Schenn -- Dmitrij Jaskin
Nikita Soshnikov -- Vladimir Sobotka --
Tage Thompson
Scottie Upshall -- Kyle Brodziak -- Chris Thorburn
Jay Bouwmeester -- Alex Pietrangelo
Carl Gunnarsson -- Colton Parayko
Vince Dunn --
Jordan Schmaltz
Carter Hutton
Jake Allen
Scratched:Patrik Berglund, Oskar Sundqvist
Injured:Joel Edmundson (broken right forearm), Robert Bortuzzo (knee)

Stars projected lineup

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

Status report

This is the start of a four-game road trip for the Blues; the next three games are in California. … The Stars are 1-1-1 on a five-game homestand that concludes Monday against the Ottawa Senators. Dallas reunited Benn, Seguin and Radulov on the top line against Tampa Bay, and the three combined for two goals and three assists.

Stat pack

Hutton leads the NHL in goals-against average (1.99) and save percentage (.935) among goaltenders who've played at least 15 games. St. Louis is 28-6-2 when scoring first. … The Stars trailed 4-2 going into the third period against Tampa Bay but earned a point with the overtime loss. Dallas has an NHL-low four points (1-18-2) when trailing after two periods.