TIME: 08:00 P.M. EST
VENUE: Scottrade Center
Ken Hitchcock has done an excellent job of revitalizing the St. Louis Blues. Instilling some toughness in the club has been a big part of the turnaround.
The Blues look to add to their NHL-best total of 18 home wins Monday night when they take on one of Hitchcocks former clubs, the Dallas Stars.
St. Louis (26-12-6) is 20-5-6 since Hitchcock replaced Davis Payne on Nov. 6. The Blues improved to 18-3-3 at home with Saturdays 3-2 win over Minnesota, winning a shootout for the first time in six tries.
“I think this is a big weight off of everybodys shoulders,” Hitchcock said. “Thats as much joy as Ive seen on the bench in a long time.”
The chippy game featured a fight less than a minute in between St. Louis David Backes and Minnesotas Justin Falk, the first two of six fighting majors.
Hitchcocks philosophy clearly helped the Blues handle the physical affair.
“I think when things kind of ramp up in that area, thats kind of what we like,” defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk said. “Thats what kind of drives us and doesnt allow us to really sit back, and kind of like Hitch always says, let our skill get ahead of our work.”
Hitchcock presided over some of the best moments in Dallas history, leading the franchise to its first Stanley Cup title in 1999, then back to the finals the next season.
These clubs are meeting for the second time since Hitchcock joined St. Louis. The Blues won 5-3 on Dec. 26 after going 0-4-1 in their previous five meetings with Dallas (24-18-1).
Jaroslav Halak made 20 saves in that contest to improve to 1-4-0 with a 3.04 goals-against average in five career starts against the Stars. Halak is 8-1-2 with a 1.96 GAA at home under Hitchcock.
While the Blues are battling a number of teams for the top spot in the Western Conference, the Stars are in 10th place in a tight race to gain a playoff spot. Their hopes were dealt a blow with Saturdays 2-1 home loss to Colorado.
“You gotta get some points in these games, if its 1-1, 0-0, 2-2 games, you gotta hold that, take it to overtime and try to manufacture points,” coach Glen Gulutzan said. “Its really what this league is all about and especially in those last 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 spots, just manufacturing points, put yourself in position to get one of those spots.”
The Stars are 3 for 36 on the power play in their last 11 games, and their 13.9 percentage for the season is one of the NHLs worst marks.
“I think that our 5-on-5 play is good,” Gulutzan said. “I think our power play has to improve.”
Top scorer Jamie Benn was held without a point Saturday for the second straight game after amassing 10 over his previous five contests.
Stars center Mike Ribeiro, meanwhile, could miss his fourth straight game with a knee injury, meaning he wouldnt have a chance to get a point in a sixth straight game against the Blues.
St. Louis defenseman Alex Pietrangelo enters with a career-best, six-game point streak with two goals and seven assists in that span.