Stars edge Blues 2-1 to complete preseason home-and-home sweep

Dallas got goals from Thomas Harley and Nils Lundkvist and a strong outing from Casey DeSmith in Monday's 2-1 preseason win over St. Louis.

The Dallas Stars defeated the St. Louis Blues 2-1 on Monday night at American Airlines Center, completing a sweep of the preseason home-and-home between the clubs and moving to 2-0 in exhibition play.

Thomas Harley opened the scoring with a shot from open space that beat Blues goaltender Joel Hofer, possibly deflected on its way in. Nils Lundkvist added the second goal in the third-friendly fashion of a one-timer from the slot, set up by a Mikko Rantanen backhand pass after a feed from Dylan Hryckowian. Lundkvist said afterward he did not get much of the shot. St. Louis cut the deficit to 2-1 on a fortunate bounce near the net, but Dallas held on.

Goaltender Casey DeSmith was a standout, particularly on pad saves when plays broke down in front of him. The Stars spent extended stretches killing penalties, including a five-on-three disadvantage of at least two full minutes, and survived all of them, with Trey Taylor's shot blocking playing a key role.

The game also featured multiple fights. Kyle Burroughs dropped Dylan Holloway with a straight punch after a penalty, and Holloway left the game and did not return. Jack Anderson fought Dylan Peterson, who had also fought in Saturday's game in St. Louis.

Afterward, Stars coach Glen Gulutzan praised DeSmith's competitiveness in practices, games and the locker room.