Blues 4, Stars 0: McTavish Scores in 94 Seconds, Hofer Shuts Dallas Out

October 2, 2026 - Dallas - Ninety-four seconds into a Blues sweater, Mason McTavish snapped one past Jake Oettinger. The rest of opening night in American Airlines Center was Joel Hofer saying no, 25 times.

The St. Louis Blues beat the Dallas Stars 4-0. Both clubs opened the season. St. Louis is 1-0-0. Dallas is 0-1-0. The AP recap called it Dallas's first lost opener since 2019 and the first home-opener shutout since the franchise moved to Dallas in 1993-94.

Shots finished 25-24 Dallas. Hofer stopped all of them in 60:00. Oettinger stopped 20 of 22 in 58:17 before the extra attacker. Two empty-netters in 15 seconds made it 4-0.

McTavish at 1:34, Dvorsky after the collision

McTavish came over from Anaheim in June for two first-round picks (15th and 29th), per the AP. The fifth-quickest goal to start a Blues season opener in franchise history, that same recap said. Helpers: Colton Parayko and Jimmy Snuggerud. 1-0.

The second goal waited until 13:05 of the second. Dalibor Dvorsky, 21, snap shot from Philip Broberg and Pius Suter. The AP described the chance: Oettinger went down after getting clipped by teammate Roope Hintz. Dvorsky had the net. 2-0.

Hintz was playing his first game since March 6. He would not stay upright for the whole night.

Empty nets at 17:37 and 17:52, and a knee in the third

Dallas pulled Oettinger. Snuggerud scored an unassisted empty-netter at 17:37 of the third. Fifteen seconds later Suter hit the vacant net from Connor McMichael and Hofer, who picked up an assist on his own shutout. 4-0.

The messy part sat earlier in the third. At 2:49, Brandon Carlo took a five-minute kneeing major and a game misconduct. The NHL landing lists a matching Dallas cross-check on the same timestamp. Hintz went down grabbing his left knee, the AP wrote, after tearing his hamstring in two places last season. He was helped off, then returned a few minutes later. His line: 16:57, zero shots, minus-2.

Dallas still had a 4-minute high-sticking double minor at 7:29 of the third and could not score on Hofer. The Stars had already taken hooking at 10:21 of the second and too many men at 19:25 of the second. St. Louis took holding late in the first, unsportsmanlike plus a fight at 5:53 of the second, and too many men at 14:12 of the second. None of those power plays became a Dallas goal. Period hockey stayed 1-0, 2-0, then two empty-netters.

Snuggerud played 18:59 with a goal, an assist, four shots, a block, and a plus-2. Suter played 14:25 with the same 1-and-1 shape plus four shots. McTavish's debut was 14:36, three shots, plus-1. Broberg led Blues ice at 23:08. Parayko played 20:27 with an assist, two shots, and three blocks. Carlo finished with 15 PIM, one block, and minus-3.25 AthX Engine points. The shutout still belonged to Hofer.

Alexey Toropchenko left earlier, in the second, with an apparent right shoulder injury after Lian Bichsel and Tyler Seguin hit him behind the Dallas net, per the AP. Do not invent a return. The box does not restore him.

Hofer's ninth career shutout, the AP said, after six shutouts in 43 starts last season. Friday was 25 saves on 25 shots against a Stars club that had won six straight openers.

Attendance was 18,532. Both teams play Saturday: St. Louis at Colorado, Dallas at Nashville.

AthX Engine on a 25-save shutout

AthX Engine goalie scoring pays 3 for the win, 0.4 per save, minus 1.2 per goal against, plus 2 for a shutout. Hofer's 15.00 leads every skater and goalie on Friday. Snuggerud's goal, assist, four shots, and a block are 9.40, the top skater in this game. Suter is 8.90. McTavish is 5.80. Dvorsky's box is 5.20; he is not seeded on AthX player pages, so the name stays unlinked. Oettinger is 5.60 for 20 saves and two goals against.

St. Louis's team line is 20.80. Dallas floors at 0.

Fantasy points measure the box. Price is what traders will pay for Hofer after a shutout in Dallas and for McTavish after 94 seconds in a new sweater. They are not the same number.

Track Hofer, McTavish, Snuggerud, Suter, and both clubs on the marketplace.

*Sources: AP recap (ESPN), ESPN box score, NHL.com scoreboard, NHL gamecenter boxscore 2026020020. AthX Engine fantasy points scored from that verified box. Information only; not financial advice.*