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GameThread for St. Louis Blues at Dallas Stars, Jan 26, 2013

Tonight's the first meeting between the Blues and the Dallas Stars. Who will wind up walking away with the victory? Probably the team with the stronger goaltending.

Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

We run the risk tonight of seeing the first epic goalie battle of the year. Kari Lehtonen's been strong -- he hasn't lost in regulation yet. Jaroslav Halak obviously hasn't been playing badly either. Two wins, both of them shutouts, and a teeny GAA are accompanying him to Dallas tonight. The Stars have their work cut out for them.

The Stars have played five one-goal games in a row, getting five out of eight possible points. Tonight isn't going to be easy for the Blues, but they've scored nine more goals than they've allowed so far, so offense isn't a problem. The power play certainly isn't a problem this year, as opposed to last season. So far this year the Blues' power play is clicking at an absurd 53.8% rate, while the Stars' is just kind of there at 16.7%. The Blues obviously can't keep this torrid pace up forever, but why not try?

No Jaromir Jagr, and no Jamie Benn for the Stars tonight, while the Blues aren't messing with perfection. They'll be icing the same line-up as they did Thursday night at home. Can the Blues limit shots and scoring chances again? If they do, they're almost guaranteed a win. If Vladimir Tarasenko and his linemates Andy McDonald and Alex Steen keep up whatever absurd chemistry that they have, having the Blues reach that magic three-goal threshold should be no problem at all.