St. Louis at Dallas

Dallas won 50 games last season and allowed 226 goals, the second-fewest in the league. Its plus-53 goal differential was fourth-best, and St. Louis finished minus-27. The Blues scored 231, 48 fewer than the Stars, and finished 26 points back in the standings, 86-112. Both clubs open their season tonight, with the Stars at home, where they went 26-11-4 last year against a Blues road record of 17-19-5. Dallas took three of the four meetings, and the last two were one-goal games, so the head-to-head margin is thin. St. Louis did change. It lost Jordan Kyrou to Washington and added Mason McTavish, so last season's Blues numbers come from a reworked roster, which is why I lean toward the Stars. Glen Gulutzan is in his second year as the Stars' head coach, so the coach behind that 226 is the same one. Back the Stars tonight.