GDT #34: Blues vs Stars 7:00 CT Bally Sports, 101ESPN

[theohall]

BLUES The St. Louis Blues came home for the holidays on a high note, perservering for an exciting 7-5 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night. Down 5-2 just over five minutes into the third period, the Blues scored five unanswered goals to flip the script and beat their rivals. It was just the fourth time in franchise history that the Blues won a game after erasing a three-goal deficit in the third period.

Brandon Saad, Jake Neighbours, Justin Faulk and Jordan Kyrou (twice) scored the clutch goals, combining for the first five-goal period of the year. The Blues' last five-goal period came in April 2022, when they scored a franchise-record seven goals in one period en route to an 8-3 win over Nashville.

"We can't get down like that, but what a comeback and what a character win from everyone," said Robert Thomas, who added the Blues' first goal of the night and an assist on Jordan Kyrou's goal which brought the game within one.

The Blues have now won four of their last five games since Drew Bannister took over as head coach. With two on Saturday, the Blues also now have four power-play goals in their last 12 opportunities (33.3%, shares fifth in NHL). Prior to the coaching change, the Blues scored seven power play goals on their first 83 opportunities (8.2%, 31st in NHL).

Resuming a three-game homestand after the Holiday break, the Blues have their second matchup with the Stars in five games. The homestand concludes on Friday against the Avs, after which the Blues quickly head to Pittsburgh for a back-to-back finale on Saturday.

The Blues host the Stars with a record of 17-15-1, worth 35 points and sixth in the Central Division.

STARS Since falling in a dramatic overtime thriller against the Blues on Dec. 16, the Stars won two more overtime battles and took their third straight close win in regulation against Nashville before the Holiday break.

Though they weathered a two-goal comeback by the Seattle Kraken, the Stars took the second point home on Dec. 18 thanks to Thomas Harley's first career game-winning goal. Building a breakout season, Harley's nine goals at age 22 trail only Rasmus Dahlin and Quinn Hughes atop the NHL defensemen leaderboard.

Matt Duchene was the hero in their next outing, building on Harley's equalizing goal to beat the Canucks with his 12th career overtime goal.

Down 2-0 eight minutes into the third period on Saturday, the Stars needed a comeback effort of their own to beat the Predators 3-2 in Nashville.

After facing the Blues, Dallas begins a five-game homestand with two straight matchups against Chicago. Overall, the Stars have won six of their last eight games, only falling to the Blues and the Golden Knights since Dec. 7.

They visit the Blues with a record of 20-8-4, worth 44 points and first in the Central Division.

HEAD TO HEAD The Blues' 4-3 overtime win over Dallas on Dec. 16 was their second matchup of the season, the first being a shootout loss on Opening Night. At 1-0-1 apiece heading into Wednesday's clash, the season series concludes in the last game of the regular season on April 17.

PLAYERS TO WATCH
BLUES Colton Parayko, who scored the game winner in overtime in the last matchup against the Stars. Pararyko's six goals this season lead the Blues defensemen, four shy of his career high 10 in a season from 2018-19 and 2019-20.

STARS Matt Duchene, who gave the Stars the overtime win over the Canucks last week. Since joining the Stars this offseason after four years in Nashville, the 32-year-old forward is third on the team with 29 points in 31 games and eight points in his last five.

BLUE NOTES
Going back to the start of the 2019-20 season, the Blues are 8-4-2 in 14 games against Dallas. They are also 5-2-1 in their last 8 games against Dallas at Enterprise Center

Jordan Kyrou's eight points since Dec. 14 (five games) shares No. 9 in the NHL. Overall, Kyrou's 18 points at Enterprise Center rank second on the Blues this season

An NHL-leading seven Blues prospects were selected to represent their countries at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship in Sweden - Jimmy Snuggerud (USA), Otto Stenberg (Sweden), Theo Lindstein (Sweden), Aleksanteri Kaskimaki (Finland), Jakub Stancl (Czechia), Dalibor Dvorsky (Slovakia) and Juraj Pekarcik (Slovakia)

With his next game, Jordan Binnington will match Grant Fuhr at No. 4 on the all-time leaderboard for games played by a Blues goaltender, currently at 248