StarPoints For 3/4 vs St. Louis

1.)  The Stars and Blues are playing for the third time this season and second time in Dallas. The season series is tied 1-1, with each team claiming a victory on the road. The Stars downed the Blues 4-1 Oct. 24, and St. Louis claimed a 4-3 shootout win in Dallas on Nov. 25. Since the organization’s NHL inception in 1967, the Stars have faced off against the St. Louis Blues 250 times, more than any other club. St. Louis holds a 113-91-46 edge in the all-time series, but the Stars have points in 18 of their last 21 home games against the Blues (13-3-5) dating back to 1998.
 
2.)  The Stars will honor Marty Turco for 500 NHL games as a goalie in a short ceremony prior to tonight’s game. He is the 57th goaltender in the league to hit that mark. Turco is the franchises’ all-time leader in games played (500), wins (259), minutes played (28,570) and shutouts (40). He has also recorded more assists than any other Stars goalie (22), including one in his 500th game. Turco was drafted in the fifth round of the NHL entry draft (124th overall) and has spent his entire career in Dallas.

3.)  Fans can usually count on a physical showdown whenever these two teams meet. In the two games so far this season, the teams have a combined 10 fighting majors, one game misconduct and 123 penalty minutes. BJ Crombeen and Cam Janssen lead the way for the Blues with 19 penalty minutes each, while Steve Ott heads the Stars with 16 penalty minutes. Dallas has outhit St. Louis 64-37 in the two contests.
 
4.)  Mike Modano leads all Stars in goals (33), assists (54), points (87) and penalty minutes (83) in 95 career contests against the Blues. Modano collected two assists St. Louis on Nov. 25. Brad Richards leads all scorers on either team in the season series with four points (0-4-4). He has 11 points (0-11-11) in 11 career games against St. Louis. Netminder Marty Turco is 10-7-3 lifetime against the Blues with two shutouts and a 2.27 goals-against average. He has played both games for Dallas this season.
 
5.)  One to watch for: Blues right wing David Backes is coming off a stellar Olympic performance in which he tallied a goal and two assists for Team USA en route to a silver medal. Backes has recorded a goal and an assist in the season series against Dallas, and has eight points (3g, 5a) in 13 career games against the Stars. He is currently third on the Blues this season with 37 points (14-23-37) in 60 games.