Preview: Stars at Blues

[December 12, 2015]  The St. Louis Blues face a tall order if they are to prevent their fifth loss in six games on Saturday, when the league-leading Dallas Stars pay a visit to Scottrade Center. Ken Hitchcock has seen his offense struggle of late with just nine tallies in five games, and the veteran coach told reporters that the scoring opportunities have diminished due to a lack of checking.

"This is a league, the more you check, the more you have the puck," Hitchcock said after St. Louis dropped a 4-2 decision to Philadelphia on Thursday. "The more you stay on the hunt, the more you play on your toes, the more you close gaps, the more you have the puck. When you're inconsistent in that level, you open it up." The Blues would be wise to keep tabs on the high-flying Stars, who extended their point streak to seven games (5-0-2) with a 3-1 victory over the Flyers on Friday. Antoine Roussel scored the go-ahead goal late in the second period for the Stars, who look to run their road winning streak in this series to six games.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSN Southwest Plus (Dallas), FSN Midwest (St. Louis)

ABOUT THE STARS (22-5-2): Captain Jamie Benn has recorded two goals and three assists in his last two contests after being held off the scoresheet in each of his previous three. With Antti Niemi turning in a quality performance on Friday, Kari Lehtonen looks to atone after yielding five goals versus the Hurricanes and six in his last meeting with the Blues when he gets the start on Saturday. Those less-than-stellar performances aside, the 32-year-old Finn has won 10 of his 11 decisions this season and owns a 12-6-2 career record against St. Louis.

ABOUT THE BLUES (16-9-4): Although his team has sputtered offensively, captain David Backes has scored in back-to-back contests while recording three goals and an assist in his last six games. Robby Fabbri added his fifth tally - and third in eight contests - on Thursday while admittedly getting comfortable playing with linemate Jori Lehtera. "Lehtera is pretty easy to play with," Fabbri told FOX Sports Midwest. "We just use our skill and play off each other."

OVERTIME

1. St. Louis G Jake Allen will start versus Dallas, against which he turned aside all 28 shots he faced in his last meeting.

2. Dallas is just 2-for-20 on the power play in its last six contests.

3. The Blues have killed off all 13 short-handed situations over their last six games.

PREDICTION: Blues 4, Stars 3

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