With about a month remaining in the regular season, the NHL looks packed with great playoff runs, but the race to win the Central Division title might just take the cake.
Saturday providing Exhibit A for why that might be, as the piping-hot St. Louis Blues won a thrilling 5-4 overtime game against the Dallas Stars.
The Blues built multiple leads in this contest, going up 1-0, then 2-1 and 4-2. The Stars came back every time ... until they weren’t allowed to respond to Alex Pietrangelo’s heady, clinching goal.
Fittingly, it was a thrilling moment with the two teams trading hay-makers, as Tyler Seguin was painfully close to ending the game in the Stars’ favor during that same sequence.
Here is a GIF of Pietranglo’s OTGWG; video of the entire exchange will be added if available.
By getting a “charity point,” the Stars are technically still on top of the Central, even if the Blues are enjoying the screaming momentum of a six-game winning streak. Of course, the Chicago Blackhawks cannot be ignored in this race, either:
1. Stars - 91 points in 70 games played, 41-20-9 with 39 ROW
2. Blues - 91 points in 70 GP, 41-20-9 with 36 ROW
3. Blackhawks - 88 points in 69 GP, 41-22-6 with 40 ROW
This marks the final regular season meeting between the Blues and the Stars. Both the Stars and Blues have a game against the Blackhawks, so expect a lot of scoreboard watching through mid-April.
Aside: Vladimir Tarasenko remained in the game, but he took a slash from Antoine Roussel, so that could be a possible injury situation to watch ... or maybe not?