Blues open new season with win in 4-0 rout of Stars

Matthew DeFranks, St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Oct 3, 2026

Published in Hockey

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Consider it already a better start than last year.

In their season opener on Friday night in Dallas, the Blues beat the Stars, 4-0, starting their 2026-27 campaign on a high note before heading to Colorado to finish off a back-to-back on Saturday night.

Mason McTavish, Dalibor Dvorsky, Jimmy Snuggerud (empty net) and Pius Suter (empty net) scored for the Blues, and Joel Hofer made 25 saves in the first opening night start of his career.

During training camp, the Blues have emphasized getting off to a better start to the season than last year, when a 5-0 opening night loss to the Wild set the stage for a 3-7-2 start to the season.

McTavish strikes first

McTavish wasted little time in endearing himself to Blues fans, scoring on his first shift in a St. Louis uniform just 1:34 into the game. McTavish swept home a pinballing puck at the side of the net after Jimmy Snuggerud's entry into the zone, and Colton Parayko's shot on goal and then redirection in the slot.

The puck slid between McTavish's legs before he found the back of the net behind Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger.

McTavish was the Blues' headline acquisition in the summer, arriving from Anaheim in exchange for two first-round picks. Once a No. 3 pick in 2021, McTavish had a career-low 17 goals and 41 points last season with the Ducks, and the Blues hope he can be the long-term answer as the second-line center behind Robert Thomas.

On Friday, McTavish centered Pavel Buchnevich and Connor McMichael.

Toropchenko hurt

Blues forward Alexey Toropchenko appeared to suffer a right shoulder injury in the second period on a hit behind the St. Louis net by Stars defenseman Lian Bichsel. Toropchenko received medical attention when he was on the ice, and then was hunched over on his way off the ice and to the Blues dressing room.

The injury occurred just 3:28 into the second period, and Toropchenko finished the night with 5:08 of ice time on eight shifts.

Toropchenko wasn't the only player to get hurt in Friday's game as Stars forward Roope Hintz was injured at 2:49 of the third period on a knee-to-knee hit from Blues defenseman Brandon Carlo. Hintz, however, was back on the ice just minutes after the collision.

Carlo was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct for kneeing, which was upheld after a video. Stars defenseman Thomas Harley picked up a minor for cross-checking, leading to two minutes of 4 on 4, following by three minutes of a Dallas power play.

That power play was cut short when Tyler Seguin high-sticked Philip Broberg in the face in the corner with 20 ticks left on the Carlo penalty. Seguin was given a double-minor.

Friendly fire

Dvorsky scored with 6:55 left in the second period, capitalizing on Dallas' self-inflicted mistakes in their own zone. After a Blues dump-in, Oettinger stopped the puck behind the net, and tried to one-hand shuffle it to Nils Lundkvist.

But Pius Suter poked the puck free to Broberg on the wall, and at the same time, Hintz clipped Oettinger as he tried to return to the net. That left a swimming Oettinger to try and stop Dvorsky after Broberg found him in the middle of the ice.

It was Dvorsky's first game in a season opener after scoring 12 goals for the Blues last season.

Taken off the board

It looked like Adam Jiricek was going to have a night to remember when he scored early in the third period by bashing a loose puck in the slot. It would have been Jiricek's first goal in his first NHL game, but it was disallowed following a Stars challenge for offside.

On Broberg's pass to McMichael entering the zone, Buchnevich was offside away from the puck in the middle of the ice.

Jiricek, 20, became the youngest Blues defenseman to make his NHL debut since Alex Pietrangelo.