Stars win shootout, get No. 3 seed

[August 10, 2020]  Denis Gurianov scored the decisive shootout goal as the Dallas Stars edged the St. Louis Blues 2-1 Sunday in Edmonton.

Gurianov beat Blues goaltender Jake Allen through the pads for the only shootout goal scored by either team.

The Stars finished 1-2 in round-robin play and earned the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference. They will play the Calgary Flames, the No. 6 seed, in the first playoff round.

The Blues finished round-robin play at 0-2-1 -- after blowing third-period leads in each game -- and will play the No. 5 seed Vancouver Canucks.

Stars forward Joe Pavelski scored the game-tying goal to force overtime. With goaltender Anton Khudobin off for an extra attacker, Pavelski blasted a shot through traffic from atop the left circle with 31.4 seconds in regulation play.

Forward Robert Thomas, who sat out the previous game with a minor injury, gave the Blues a quick 1-0 lead on the first shot of the game.

He converted a 3-on-2 rush, converting Sammy Blais' pass from the left wing with a snap shot to put the Blues up 1-0.

With 3:16 left in the period, Blues defenseman Vince Dunn thought he scored, but the Stars erased it with a successful offside challenge.

The Stars outshot the Blues 12-4 in the second period and controlled play. Midway through the period, Stars winger Roope Hintz shanked a one-time shot toward an open net from the left side, then rang a shot off the crossbar from the right side.

Blues goaltender Jake Allen (34) makes a save while Dallas Stars forward Alexander Radulov (47) looks for a rebound during the first period in the Western Conference qualifications at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

The Blues started Allen with No. 1 netminder Jordan Binnington not dressed. Winger Vladimir Tarasenko was back in the lineup after sitting out the previous round-robin game. Forward Ivan Barbashev was out again on paternity leave from the team.

Allen finished with 37 saves against 38 shots.

Blais exited the game in the second period with a lower-body injury and didn't return.

Khudobin started in place of Ben Bishop, who was listed as unfit to play. The Stars were also missing center Tyler Seguin. Defenseman John Klingberg returned after missing the previous round-robin game.

Khudobin stopped 21 of 22 shots for Dallas.

--Field Level Media

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