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Joel Hofer makes 39 saves in Blues' 2-1 win over Stars

Wed, Dec 27, 2023
NHL News (AP)

ST. LOUIS (AP) - Jake Neighbours and Marco Scandella each scored and goalie Joel Hofer recorded 39 saves to lead the St. Louis Blues to a 2-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night following a three-day break in the NHL calendar.

The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for Dallas.

Hofer registered 37 saves in his previous start, a 4-1 win over the Panthers last Thursday. He improved to 7-5-0 this season.

"It was a good challenge," Hofer said. "Those are the kinds of games you look forward to, especially a divisional rival. It was a lot of fun and obviously we got the win, which made it even better. I'm feeling good."

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Dallas goalie Scott Wedgewood took the loss after he had recorded a point in each of his previous 10 decisions (8-0-2). He made 28 saves.

"Someone has to start on the road," Wedgewood said. "Obviously, not getting any points is tough. I feel for the guys. They battled. We just came out on the wrong side of it."

Jason Robertson scored for the Stars.

It was the first of three games in the four days for the Blues.

Neighbours put St. Louis up 1-0 at 18:08 of the first period. He scored his 12th goal with a one-timer on a pass from Scott Perunovich.

The Blues took a 2-0 lead at 10:53 on a goal by Scandella. Kasperi Kapanen passed to Scandella, who snapped a wrist shot in by Wedgewood from the top of the right circle.

"We're playing together; we're supporting each other," Scandella said. "I just feel like we have to keep the momentum going."

A high-sticking double minor penalty was called at 14:16 and a delaying game penalty was called less than two minutes later. That gave the Blues a two-man advantage for two minutes late in the period.

Scandella was cut on the high-sticking call. He needed three stitches to close the wound.

"Hazards of the game," Scandella said.

The Blues took eight shots on the long power play but failed to dent Wedgewood.

"We've got a lot of confidence in our penalty kill," Dallas coach Peter DeBoer said. "You never want to give up a goal in a 5-on-3 for two minutes. That's what we were staring at tonight. We knew if they scored there, it was probably game over. There was a lot of desperation on our part."

The momentum shifted quickly after that. Dallas made the Blues pay when Justin Faulk turned the puck over. Robertson beat Hofer at 18:31 of the second period.

"I just got on the ice and I was kind of fresh," Robertson said. "I was trying to get open and they found me and I was able to score."

That goal was all Hofer allowed from the Stars.

"I thought Joel was outstanding," Blues interim coach Drew Bannister said. "He was great on the PK for us early on when we had to make those two kills. He made some key saves for us in the third, too, with some difficult saves in tight. He was outstanding from the beginning right till the end."

UP NEXT:

Stars: Host Chicago on Friday night.

Blues: Host Colorado on Friday night.

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