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Surging Stars aim for the top of the West

Feb 26, 2008 - 1:54 PM Dallas (39-22-5) at St. Louis (28-24-10) 8:30 pm EST

ST. LOUIS (Ticker) - It once seemed impossible, but the Dallas Stars are within shouting distance of the top of the Western Conference.

The Stars will look to pick up another two points when they visit the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday.

The Detroit Red Wings (42-17-5, 89 points) had a seemingly insurmountable lead in the West, but it has been shrinking day by day. Six points off the pace, Dallas is now the closest team to taking advantage.

While the Red Wings have gone just 2-7-1 over their past 10 games, the Stars are 8-2-0 in their last 10, and 11-2-0 in their last 13 contests.

The main reason for Dallas' recent surge has been its ability to score at will. In their past 11 wins, the Stars have totaled 36 goals.

Leading scorer Mike Ribeiro snapped a three-game pointless streak with two goals and two assists in Saturday's 6-3 win at Nashville, and Brenden Morrow added a goal and three assists.

Top goaltender Marty Turco is 8-2-0 in his last 10 starts, including a shutout against Detroit on February 17. Turco's 2.29 goals-against average ranks 10th in the NHL.

The Blues have been on the other end of the offensive spectrum of late, going 0-2-1 in their last three games while putting just two tallies on the board. They got shutout, 2-0, at Phoenix on Sunday.

The slump has them out of the playoff picture in the West, six points behind the Nashville Predators (32-24-8, 72 points) for the final spot.

Dallas owns the edge this season, 2-1-0, over St. Louis, including a 6-2 thrashing in their last meeting February 9. Ribeiro and Morrow both scored in that contest, and they have combined for four goals in the three meetings.