Benn,
Seguin team up to help Stars sink Blues
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[November 04, 2016]
Nov 3, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA;
St. Louis Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk (22) defends against
Dallas Stars left wing Jamie Benn (14) during the third period at
the American Airlines Center. The Stars beat the Blues 6-2.
Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Details
Benn, Seguin team up to help Stars sink Blues
DALLAS -- Thanks to seven combined assists from Jamie Benn and Tyler
Seguin, the Dallas Stars atoned for a Game 7 loss in the playoffs
last May with a 6-2 win against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday
night at American Airlines Center.
The Blues had eliminated the Stars in Game 7 of the second round of
the playoffs on May 11 in Dallas with a 6-1 win.
"Our goal was just get back to .500, and let's start over again,"
Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. "We're there. We'll have a couple
bodies coming back in the near future and that will help us."
Dallas (4-4-2), which snapped a three-game winless streak, got two
goals from John Klingberg and one each from Patrick Eaves, Stephen
Johns, Jason Spezza and Jordie Benn. Seguin had four assists, tying
a career-high, and Benn added three helpers. Antti Niemi stopped 28
of 30 shots.
Seguin also had four assists in a 6-5 overtime loss to Philadelphia
in Dallas on Oct. 18, 2014.
"Probably their best game of the year," Ruff said of Benn and
Seguin. "Our best players were at the forefront tonight, which was
great to see."
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Paul Stastny and Alex Pietrangelo each had a goal and an assist for
St. Louis (5-4-2), who lost its second straight game. The Blues have
been outscored 11-2 in those losses.
"I think this is a tough time for us right now," Blues coach Ken
Hitchcock said. "We're not playing very well. We're not all on board
where we should be. It's a frustrating time for everybody right now,
frustrating because we're not scoring and we're not keeping it out
of our net the last two games."
Eaves scored 6:35 into the second period on a deflection. Seguin's
wrist shot from the right circle first struck Eaves in the
midsection before the puck deflected a second time off the right arm
of Blues goaltender Jake Allen, who stopped 21 of 26 shots.
St. Louis briefly tied it at 1-1 when Stastny scored 11:26 into the
second period during a 4-on-4. A rolling puck deflected off Spezza's
skate and, after Niemi made a pad save, Stastny knocked in the carom
at the far post with a backhand.
Dallas regained the lead 31 seconds later when Klingberg scored on a
wrist shot from the right circle at 11:57 of the second. Allen
denied Jamie Benn on a breakaway seconds earlier, but Benn collected
the puck and sent a pass across the crease to Klingberg, who
one-timed a wrist shot that beat Allen far post to make it 2-1.
Johns made it a 3-1 contest 3:40 into the third period when he
one-timed a slap shot from the left circle for his second goal of
the season.
"It was a great pass by (Seguin), obviously," Johns said. "When one
of the best players in the world has the puck on his stick, you try
and get open, and he's going to find you."
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![](../images/110416pics/sports77.jpg)
Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk (22) defends against Dallas Stars
left wing Jamie Benn (14) during the third period at the American
Airlines Center. The Stars beat the Blues 6-2. Mandatory Credit:
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
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Spezza then made it a three-goal game 5:36 into the third when a
Seguin pass deflected off his leg and then off Jay Bouwmeester's
skate to make it 4-1 with Dallas on a 4-on-3 power play.
Hitchcock used his coach's challenge on the Spezza goal, asserting
that Allen had been interfered with. However, following a short
official review, the goal was deemed valid.
St. Louis had apparently answered when Alexander Steen scored what
would have been the 200th of his career from the left circle at 8:22
of the third period. However, after Ruff used his coach's challenge
on the grounds that Patrik Berglund interfered with Niemi, the goal
was overturned.
The Blues cut it to 4-2 when Pietrangelo scored from the edge of the
right circle at 10:27 of the third period.
Klingberg added an empty-net goal with 3:30 remaining when he
flipped a backhand the length of the ice for his second of the game.
Jordie Benn then scored on a slap shot 17 seconds later to make it
6-2.
Both teams return to the ice Saturday with St. Louis hosting
Columbus and Dallas facing Chicago.
NOTES: The Blues scratched D Brad Hunt, who was recalled from AHL
Chicago on Thursday morning, RW Ty Rattie and RW Ryan Reaves. The
Stars scratched RW Jiri Hudler (illness), D Patrik Nemeth and D
Jamie Oleksiak. ... The Blues placed D Robert Bortuzzo (lower body)
on injured reserve on Thursday morning. ... Blues coach Ken
Hitchcock, who coached the Stars to the Stanley Cup championship in
1999, made morning skate optional on Thursday. ... Stars G Antti
Niemi made his sixth start. ... Blues D Alex Pietrangelo, who
sustained a lower-body injury in a loss to the Rangers on Tuesday
and did not practice on Wednesday, was in the lineup for St. Louis.
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