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Stars-Blues Preview

Oct 24, 2009 - 3:49 AM By JEFF MEZYDLO STATS Senior Writer

Dallas (4-2-4) at St. Louis (3-3-1), 8:00 p.m. EDT

A big reason for the Dallas Stars' positive start can be attributed to their solid play on the road.

The Stars look to continue that success away from home against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night.

James Neal had two goals and Brad Richards added two assists as Dallas (4-2-4) rallied from a three-goal deficit, but fell 5-4 in overtime at Los Angeles on Thursday.

The loss dropped the Stars to 3-0-3 on the road after going 16-19-6 away from home last season. Dallas is averaging 4.0 goals in those six road contests, compared to 2.3 while going 1-2-1 at American Airlines Arena.

Trying to maintain their road success could be a bit of challenge in this contest.

Though St. Louis's 3-1 win over Minnesota on Friday was its first in three true home games, Dallas went 1-3-0 against the Blues last season and has lost six of seven at the Scottrade Center.

Despite the loss, Dallas - 1-0-1 on a three-game trip - feels confident after rallying for a point in its last contest.

"You never want to put yourself in the hole like we did, but it shows the character that we have," said Neal, who has four points in his last two games. "Tough loss, but it's a good character comeback for us."

Coach Marc Crawford believes that kind of effort should provide positive results more times than not.

"I think that we learned something as well - if we stick to the habits that are going to allow us to be successful, then I think that will carry us a long way," he told the Stars' official Web site.

With stars Mike Modano (ribs) and Jere Lehtinen (groin) on injured reserve, Dallas received a boost with Richards back after he missed the previous two contests with a groin injury.

Richards has three goals with a team-leading eight assists this season, and seven assists in nine games versus the Blues.

After Alex Auld made 26 saves against Los Angeles, Marty Turco figures to be back in net Saturday.

Turco - 2-2-3 with a 2.35 goals-against average - is 9-7-1 with a tie and a 2.32 GAA against St. Louis. The veteran goaltender, however, has a 5.99 GAA during a three-game losing streak to the Blues.

David Perron had a goal with an assist while Brad Boyes added his second goal - an empty-netter - Friday night for the Blues (4-3-1), who won for the second time in six games since winning a pair against Detroit in Sweden to open the season.

After scoring 76 goals the past two seasons, Boyes is off to a slow start in 2009-10. He has six goals with seven assists in 12 career games, however, against Dallas.

The 21-year-old Perron, meanwhile, tallied his first points since being moved to the Blues' checking line after recording 50 last season.

"Obviously, they want me to play my game and be aggressive on the puck," Perron said of being demoted to a defensive-minded line. "That's how we're going to get the scoring chances."

Chris Mason made 20 saves Friday to improve to 2-3-1. Though Mason is 3-1-1 with a 2.70 GAA against Dallas, Ty Conklin could be in net to conclude this back-to-back.

Conklin is 2-0-0 with a 1.71 GAA this season and 1-2-0 with a 2.54 GAA versus the Stars.