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The Dallas Stars continued their preseason dominance with a 2-1 win against the St. Louis Blues at American Airlines Center on Monday, sweeping the home-and-home series. The game featured standout goaltending from Casey DeSmith, creative offensive flashes from Mikko Rantanen, and a slew of fights that underscored the team's aggressive new attitude.
DeSmith Delivers Between the Pipes
Casey DeSmith turned in an excellent performance, bailing out the Stars when their defensive zone coverage grew sloppy. Known for his lightning-quick pad saves, DeSmith repeatedly stymied the Blues when plays broke down. Head coach Glen Gulutzan praised his netminder: "Same old Casey. Bottom line is he's competitive. He's a competitive guy in practice, he's a competitive guy in games. He's vocal in the locker room and he's earned that."
Rantanen's Highlight-Reel Night
Mikko Rantanen was a constant threat, gliding around the ice as if playing roller hockey on Huntington Beach. He attempted daring dangles, saucered passes, and stickhandled through Blues defenders with ease. His creativity set up Nils Lundkvist's goal: after a nice setup from Dylan Hryckowian, Rantanen backhanded a pass into the slot for Lundkvist to skate into. Lundkvist's one-timer appeared to burn a hole through the netminder, though he humbly called it a "muffin" shot that may have fooled the goalie.
Fists Fly in Feisty Affair
The Stars embraced a physical style, with multiple fights breaking out. Jack Anderson dropped the gloves for the third time this preseason (including the prospect tournament), squaring off with Dylan Peterson, who had also fought on Saturday. Later, Kyle Burroughs was pushed into a fight after taking a penalty and got the better of Dylan Holloway, switching to his left hand and landing a perfect straight punch that dropped Holloway, who left the game and did not return. The Stars then killed off an extended 5-on-3 disadvantage, thanks in large part to Trey Taylor's shot blocking. Taylor played over two minutes on one penalty kill and blocked 2-3 shots, showcasing his NHL-ready defensive skills.
Notable Performances and Injury Updates
Dylan Hryckowian impressed with his speed and quick-release snapshot, generating several scoring chances and engaging in scrums alongside his brother. Jason Robertson provided a comedic moment when he defended a 2-on-1 by flailing his arms like a wacky waving inflatable tube man—and somehow it worked. In injury news, Arno Tiefensee was hurt at morning skate and did not dress, with Brandon Halverson serving as backup. Colin Blackwell is expected to miss only days after being helped off the ice last week. Matt Duchene has yet to skate at camp for maintenance reasons but is expected to skate this week. Cameron Hughes left the game 22 seconds in with an upper-body injury and was seen in a sling; more updates are expected tomorrow.
The Stars improved to 2-0 in the preseason and will look to carry their momentum forward as they fine-tune their roster for the regular season.
Originally reported by yahoo.