Brilliant Kari Lehtonen Not Enough To Stifle St. Louis Blues

If the Dallas Stars could have turned up the thermostat in St. Louis on Monday night, they probably would have considered it. The style of play seemed geared toward slowing down the St. Louis Blues, leveling the playing field, and bringing them down to the Stars' now lowered skill level, as unintentionally insulting as that sounds. Making them play on slushy ice would have just taken that goal to the next level.

The Dallas Stars flew in to St. Louis to take on the hottest team in hockey right now. Under Ken Hitchcock, the Blues have been nothing short of a revelation. With the glut of injuries the Dallas Stars are fighting through right now, you knew it would have to take a grinding effort worthy of the Hitchcock Stars teams of the 90's to come away with two points in this one.

Lucky for the Dallas Stars, they also had a gigantic Finn on a mission between the pipes. He was an absolute beast, which he had to have been if we were going to have any chance in this game at all. He took a 0-0 tie deep into the third period, when T.J. Oshie finally found twine for the game's first and only goal.

It would be all the offense the Blues would need, as Jaroslav Halak would pitch his third shutout of the year to notch his 12th victory. With this win, the St. Louis Blues also claim a share of the league's top spot with 60 points, continuing their amazing resurgence.

Scoring Summary
1st Period
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2nd Period
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3rd Period
11:26 STL T.J. Oshie (14) Wrist Shot - Assists: David Perron (12) & Alex Pietrangelo (14)

Defending Big D 3 Stars
1 - Kari Lehtonen
2 - Jaroslav Halak
3 - T.J. Oshie