Final
STL at DAL game report
Friday, October 2, 2026 · 8:00 p.m. CT · American Airlines Center
Blues beat the Stars 4–0 despite being out-chanced 3.1–2.3 in expected goals and 12–7 in high-danger chances. Joel Hofer saved 3.1 goals more than expected.
Team comparison
- 0Goals4
- 3.09Expected goals2.31
- 1.495-on-5 expected goals1.76
- 12High-danger chances7
- 25Shots on goal24
- 59Shot attempts50
- 375-on-5 shot attempts36
- 9:18Power-play time8:00
5-on-5 shares for DAL: 50.7% of shot attempts, 45.8% of expected goals.
Expected goals leave out shots at an empty net (DAL 0.00, STL 1.07); they're in the “Other” row of By strength.
Expected goals through the game
Each step is a shot; the bigger the step, the better the chance. A goal on a small step was a low-percentage finish. Shots at an empty net add no step.
Shot map
By strength
| DAL at… | Time | Attempts | xG | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 on 5 | 38:29 | 37–36 | 1.49–1.76 | 0–2 |
| Power play | 9:18 | 13–8 | 1.16–0.44 | 0–0 |
| Shorthanded | 8:00 | 2–3 | 0.03–0.06 | 0–0 |
| Other (4 on 4, 3 on 3, empty net) | 4:13 | 7–3 | 0.42–1.12 | 0–2 |
Read pairs as DAL–STL. “Power play” means DAL had the extra skater.
Goaltending
| Goalie | Saves | SV% | xGA | GSAx |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joel Hofer STL | 25/25 | 1.000 | 3.09 | +3.09 |
| Jake Oettinger DAL | 20/22 | .909 | 2.31 | +0.31 |
GSAx above zero means the goalie stopped more than an average goalie would have, given the shots faced.
Player ratings
Out of 10, from each player's Game Score (goals, assists, shots, blocks, penalties, faceoffs and 5-on-5 shot and goal differential while on the ice) compared with every NHL game of the last two seasons. 6 is above average, 7 very good, 8 excellent. Goalies are rated on goals saved above expected. ★ = top three of the night. How ratings work
Average ratingStars5.5Blues6.3
| ★Top three of the night: Joel HoferGSTL | 8.9 | 0 | 1 | — | 60:00 | — |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ★Top three of the night: Jimmy SnuggerudFSTL | 8.1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 18:59 | 57.7 |
| ★Top three of the night: Pius SuterFSTL | 7.8 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 14:25 | 56.3 |
| Philip BrobergDSTL | 7.5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 23:08 | 60.0 |
| Mason McTavishFSTL | 7.2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 14:36 | 62.5 |
| Connor McMichaelFSTL | 6.7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 13:03 | 61.5 |
| Colton ParaykoDSTL | 6.5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 20:27 | 37.5 |
| Sam SteelFDAL | 6.4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 11:19 | 85.7 |
| Pavel BuchnevichFSTL | 6.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17:11 | 76.5 |
| Jamie BennFDAL | 6.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10:03 | 86.7 |
| Adam JiricekDSTL | 6.2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 16:35 | 58.3 |
| Arttu HyryFDAL | 6.2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13:07 | 63.2 |
| Justin HryckowianFDAL | 6.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 17:12 | 66.7 |
| Wyatt JohnstonFDAL | 6.0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 21:49 | 58.8 |
| Jake OettingerGDAL | 6.0 | 0 | 0 | — | 58:17 | — |
| Brandon CarloDSTL | 5.9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15:27 | 57.9 |
| Robert ThomasFSTL | 5.9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22:59 | 66.7 |
| Dalibor DvorskyFSTL | 5.9 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 13:03 | 18.2 |
| Tyler MyersDDAL | 5.9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13:13 | 56.0 |
| Dylan HollowayFSTL | 5.8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 19:21 | 57.9 |
| Mikko RantanenFDAL | 5.7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 22:10 | 57.9 |
| Theo LindsteinDSTL | 5.6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 15:13 | 46.4 |
| Nils LundkvistDDAL | 5.5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 15:22 | 54.2 |
| Esa LindellDDAL | 5.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18:43 | 45.5 |
| Miro HeiskanenDDAL | 5.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 26:45 | 50.0 |
| Ross JohnstonFSTL | 5.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9:56 | 33.3 |
| Thomas HarleyDDAL | 5.2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 20:59 | 60.0 |
| Radek FaksaFDAL | 5.2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11:07 | 40.0 |
| Alexey ToropchenkoFSTL | 5.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5:08 | 40.0 |
| Cam FowlerDSTL | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 22:38 | 42.1 |
| Oskar BäckFDAL | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12:03 | 33.3 |
| Joel KivirantaFDAL | 4.9 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10:18 | 30.0 |
| Roope HintzFDAL | 4.9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16:57 | 41.2 |
| Lian BichselDDAL | 4.8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16:02 | 42.4 |
| Jonatan BerggrenFSTL | 4.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13:48 | 33.3 |
| Tyler SeguinFDAL | 4.7 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 14:55 | 35.0 |
| Jason RobertsonFDAL | 4.6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 19:39 | 36.4 |
| Jake NeighboursFSTL | 4.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13:03 | 33.3 |
Lines used
Each team's most-used forward lines and defence pairs at 5 on 5, from the NHL's shift charts · time together · shot attempts for–against · expected goals for–against
Stars
Forward lines
- Rantanen – Johnston – Hryckowian7:27 · 7–3 · xG 0.2–0.0
- Faksa – Bäck – Kiviranta6:35 · 6–10 · xG 0.2–0.4
- Seguin – Hintz – Robertson6:12 · 3–10 · xG 0.3–0.7
- Benn – Steel – Hyry5:40 · 11–1 · xG 0.5–0.0
Defence pairs
- Myers – Bichsel11:18 · 13–11 · xG 0.6–0.4
- Heiskanen – Harley11:01 · 11–5 · xG 0.3–0.2
- Lindell – Lundkvist9:34 · 10–9 · xG 0.4–0.4
Blues
Forward lines
- Thomas – Holloway – Snuggerud8:52 · 10–5 · xG 0.5–0.2
- Berggren – Neighbours – Dvorsky5:24 · 2–8 · xG 0.1–0.4
- Buchnevich – McMichael – McTavish5:11 · 5–4 · xG 0.2–0.1
- Johnston – Toropchenko – Suter3:30 · 1–3 · xG 0.0–0.1
Defence pairs
- Fowler – Carlo10:10 · 7–7 · xG 0.2–0.3
- Parayko – Lindstein9:48 · 11–15 · xG 0.5–0.6
- Broberg – Jiricek9:28 · 10–8 · xG 0.7–0.4
Three stars
- ★J. HoferSTL · 1.000 SV%
- ★★M. McTavishSTL · 1G 0A
- ★★★D. DvorskySTL · 1G 0A
Scoring
Period 1
- 01:34STL M. McTavish (from C. Parayko, J. Snuggerud)1–0
Period 2
- 13:05STL D. Dvorsky (from P. Broberg, P. Suter)2–0
Period 3
- 17:37STL J. Snuggerud3–0
- 17:52STL P. Suter (from C. McMichael, J. Hofer)4–0