Blues vs. Stars: 5 injuries give Dallas a huge opening test
Five Dallas Stars sit on injured reserve as the club opens its 2026-27 season at home against the St. Louis Blues on Friday, Oct. 2, at American Airlines Center. Blues vs. Stars is a 9 p.m. ET puck drop on TNT and truTV, and it pits a Dallas team that went 50-20-12 last season against a St. Louis club that finished 37-33-12, according to FOX Sports.
The Central Division rivals already met twice this preseason, and Dallas won both games 2-1. Friday is the first Blues vs. Stars meeting with standings points on the line.
Blues vs. Stars game information
- Date: Friday, Oct. 2
- Time: 9 p.m. ET
- Venue: American Airlines Center, Dallas
- TV: TNT, truTV
- Records: Both teams 0-0-0
Friday is also the Stars’ home opener. The team’s Victory Green Carpet walk is set for about 5 p.m. on PNC Plaza outside the arena, and the game is the first of 13 nationally televised Stars games this season, the club said on NHL.com.
Dallas brings a perfect preseason and a thin lineup
The Stars went 4-0 in exhibition play, according to ESPN’s schedule data. They beat St. Louis 2-1 on Sept. 19 and again on Sept. 22, then swept a home-and-home with the Minnesota Wild.
The health picture is less tidy. Center Matt Duchene is on injured reserve with a lower-body injury, and ESPN lists his projected return as Oct. 25. Centers Harrison Scott and Cameron Hughes and defensemen Luke Krys and Tristan Bertucci are also on injured reserve, with projected returns between Oct. 5 and Oct. 10.
One forward is coming back. Colin Blackwell was recalled from AHL Texas on Thursday after clearing waivers Monday, CBS Sports reported. The 33-year-old had four goals and 15 points in 70 games last season and is expected to open the year on the fourth line.
Dallas scored 273 goals and allowed 222 last season, a plus-51 differential, and went 19-9-4 against Central opponents, per FOX Sports.
St. Louis looks to flip a losing preseason
The Blues went 1-3 in the preseason, and the Blues vs. Stars opener is their first chance to change that tone. After the two one-goal losses to Dallas, they beat the Chicago Blackhawks 1-0 on Sept. 25 and lost 3-2 in Chicago the next night.
St. Louis struggled inside its own division last season, going 10-16-0 against Central teams. The Blues scored 230 goals, an average of 2.8 per game on 25.3 shots per game, according to FOX Sports.
Two defensemen will miss the opener. Tyler Tucker is on injured reserve after knee surgery and Logan Mailloux is out with a hand injury. ESPN projects their returns for Nov. 12 and Nov. 25, respectively. Forward Felix Trudeau is also on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury and a projected return of Oct. 10.
Blues vs. Stars key matchup: Can St. Louis solve Oettinger?
St. Louis scored only once in each preseason meeting, and that is the trend to watch Friday. Jake Oettinger has been the Stars’ No. 1 goalie for several seasons, though neither team had announced its opening-night starter as of Thursday night.
Dallas will lean on its top lines while Duchene and three other centers are out. The Blues’ best chance may be pressure on a Stars blue line that is missing two depth defensemen, especially if they can generate more than the roughly 25 shots a night they averaged last season.
Sportsbooks list Dallas as a clear favorite for the first Blues vs. Stars game that counts this season. FOX Sports cited a line of Stars -211 and Blues +169, with the total at 5.5 goals.
For more on Dallas, read our look at how the Jason Robertson saga affected the Stars’ locker room. Follow the rest of opening week in our NHL news and NHL coverage.