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Blues pay a visit to Stars

Oct 13, 2011 - 3:14 PM (Sports Network) - If there is a silver lining to the Blues road-heavy October, at least they'll have fresh legs when they arrive in Dallas to take on the Stars tonight at American Airlines Center.

That could be key given how St. Louis performed against the club in the third period a season ago.

The Blues were swept by the Stars for the first time in franchise history in 2010-11, going 0-3-1. Dallas rallied to beat St. Louis three times in that time when down after two periods, outscoring the Blues 7-0 in the third frame.

That seemed to indicate that the Stars were able to wear down the Blues and playing eight of its next nine on the road isn't something that will help keep St. Louis fresh. However, it opens a four-game swing tonight after splitting two home games to start the season.

After dropping a decision to Nashville last Saturday, the Blues posted a 5-2 victory over the Flames on Monday thanks to a goal and an assist each from Alex Pietrangelo and Jason Arnott.

Andy McDonald assisted on two goals and Jaroslav Halak made 15 shots for the Blues, who have unleashed 68 shots over their first two games while allowing only 33. That includes a 26-7 edge in the third period.

"There's obviously a lot of high expectations here," Blues forward Chris Stewart said. "Getting that monkey off the back for the first [win], it's going to be a lot easier going on the road."

St. Louis' eight road games in October is a club record and it will start the first of two four-game swings this month without Carlo Colaiacovo after placing the defenseman on injured reserve Tuesday. Colaiacovo suffered an upper-body injury in the season opener versus the Predators.

The Stars will look to stay unbeaten at home this year after posting a 2-1 shootout win over the visiting Coyotes on Monday. Loui Eriksson forced overtime on a tally with 27.1 seconds left in regulation and Mike Ribeiro had the winner in the breakaway session.

"Every game counts and every point matters in this league," said Dallas head coach Glen Gulutzan. "The shootout is an important part of the game and we'll take points any way we can get them."

Kari Lehtonen made 40 saves in the win, which came after a split of a home- and-home set with the Blackhawks. Dallas won the opener of that series at home on Friday before a loss in Chicago the following night.

Defenseman Sheldon Souray had an assist in Monday's win, giving him a point in three straight games for the first time since Dec. 15-19, 2009.

Lehtonen is 6-1-0 with a 1.69 goals-against average lifetime versus the Blues, while Halak is winless in three games with a 3.05 GAA against the Stars.

Gulutzan will hope his power play can get going against the Blues tonight. Dallas is just 1-for-14 with the man advantage this season after an 0-for-7 effort versus the Coyotes.