Consider the dress rehearsal complete.
The Blues dressed what could be their season-opening lineup during a 4-3 preseason win over the Stars on Thursday night. Jordan Kyrou scored the game-winning goal for St. ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëùµ¼º½ÍøÖ· with 3:17 remaining in overtime.
Kasperi Kapanen and Philip Broberg each had a goal and an assist, supporting Mathieu Joseph’s second-period goal and Jordan Binnington’s 17 saves. Logan Stankoven (twice) and Evgenii Dadonov scored for the Stars.
Kapanen scored with 8:44 left in the third period, spinning a shot from a tight angle past a diving Jake Oettinger and into a mostly vacant net. Kapanen picked up a Broberg rebound off his 86 mph shot and twirled a no-look backhand to give the Blues a 3-1 lead.
Twenty-four seconds later, Stankoven scored to pull the Stars back within one goal. Stankoven scored again with the extra attacker with 39.7 seconds remaining in the third period to send the game into overtime.
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The Blues have one more preseason game remaining on Saturday against the Blackhawks in Chicago, but that could game could feature more of an AHL lineup.
Broberg from the slot
Blues defenseman Broberg gave St. ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëùµ¼º½ÍøÖ· a 2-1 lead just 83 seconds into the third period, one-timing a pass from Robert Thomas in the slot. Broberg found a soft spot in the middle of the Stars defense, sunk down to the slot between the two Stars forwards and opened up for Thomas to find him.
Broberg was one of the marquee offseason additions by the Blues, coming over from Edmonton via offer sheet along with Dylan Holloway.
While Holloway has impressed enough to earn a promotion to the top line with Thomas and Jake Neighbours, Broberg’s preseason has been slightly more uneven. Blues coach Drew Bannister lauded Broberg’s preseason debut in Utah as outstanding but mentioned that he looked like he was trying too hard on Tuesday against Columbus.
Broberg, who played just 12 games in the NHL last season, should be a fixture in the Blues’ top four defensemen thanks to his smooth skating, his 6-3 size and occasional offensive acumen.
Joseph picks a corner
Forward Joseph scored his first goal in a Blues sweater on Thursday night, whipping a shot from the slot past Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger. Joseph’s goal at 8:33 of the second period tied the game at 1-1 for the Blues, following Evgenii Dadonov’s first-period power-play goal for the Stars.
Blues captain Brayden Schenn set up Joseph’s goal by winning a wall battle with Mason Marchment, slipping the puck to Kapanen, who touched it to Joseph. Joseph finished far side.
The shift was set up by extended offensive zone time by the previous line on the ice: Alexandre Texier, Pavel Buchnevich and Kyrou. The Buchnevich line, aided by the long change, kept the Stars hemmed in their own zone before Schenn and Kapanen set up Joseph.
Kapanen would have had another assist on Ryan Suter’s disallowed goal, and he could have scored in the first period but flipped a rebound wide of an open net.
Suter scores ... or not
Defenseman Suter appeared to score against his former team on Thursday night, but the goal was wiped out after a successful goaltender interference challenge by Dallas assistant coach Steve Spott, who was coaching as Stars coach Pete DeBoer recovers from an appendectomy.
Suter’s change-up of a one-timer fluttered past Oettinger for a goal that would have given the Blues a 2-1 lead. Joseph was camped out at the net front and didn’t initiate contact with Oettinger but was in the crease and impeded Oettinger’s ability to make a save.
Suter signed in the summer with the Blues after he was bought out by the Stars. It was the second time in his career that Suter was bought out by a team in the Central Division (Minnesota), meaning he will be paid by three different teams in the division this season.
Suter is expected to play on the third pairing with Matthew Kessel.