Stars and Blues Poised to Reignite Old Rivalry Again
This coming Saturday, September 15th, the Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues open up NHL preseason play.
The Dallas team should be in the playoffs for years to come. St. Louis just started a postseason streak this past season, and they’re expected to be in the mix again this coming April.
Since the Minnesota North Stars first faced the Blues in the playoffs all the way back in 1967, the Stars have faced the Blues more than any other team, 14 times in total, including 5 times since the relocation to Dallas. As soon as in April seven months from now, there could be a 15th meeting.
Familiar Faces
Jim Montgomery has a past and present in this rivalry. While currently the head coach of the St. Louis Blues, Montgomery made his NHL debut with the Dallas Stars. He made his way back to St. Louis after being an assistant coach with the Blues for two years.
Radek Faksa just left St. Louis after a season. Previously, he resided in Dallas for nine years. Now he’ll be entering his 10th season in Dallas. Noted for his blue-collar, physical game, Faksa is a fan and coach’s favorite.
Faksa is also happy about the rehire.
“Hockey-wise, I had a great time in St. Louis,” he said.
“It was something new for me. I never played anywhere else. It was a great experience for me. I have nothing bad to say about St. Louis. But I’m happy to be back.”
Playoffs
Everybody knows that rivalries are made in the playoffs. If it weren’t for the playoff history between the two teams, then the Blues would be just as much of a divisional rivalry as the Utah Mammoth or maybe the Winnipeg Jets.
In fact, the Stars have had more playoff matchups with the Blues than any other NHL team. The second most meetings against another team are vs the Edmonton Oilers, with 8 all-time meetings.
Rivalry Has Been Renewed Before
From 1994 to 2001, Dallas and St. Louis met in the playoffs three times in eight years. Dallas won two of those rounds in the nineties. After that, the teams didn’t meet in the playoffs for another 15 years. They met twice between 2016 and 2019.
The last playoff matchup between the two teams was a round-robin game during the bubble playoffs. A game in which the Stars were favored, which led to better playoff seeding after the COVID break.
With what looks to be an uprising from St. Louis after failing to make the playoffs from 2023-2024, plus the division-focused playoff tree, we should expect this rivalry to fire up once again.
Maybe as soon as this coming April.
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Categorized:Stars