What a serenade of “Happy Birthday” for the Blues captain from his teammates after Backes scored off a rebound during a power play 10:58 into overtime of Game 2 on Sunday for a 4-3 victory over the Stars at Dallas.
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The game-tying goal was scored by Jamie Benn via assists from Cody Eakin and Kris Russell with just 2:36 remaining in regulation play.
Troy Brouwer had a power-play goal and an assist to help the Blues take a 3-1 lead in the first period. As the old saying goes, it doesn’t really become a series until the road team wins a game.
The Dallas Stars kicked off their NHL Stanley Cup second-round play-off series against the St Louis Blues in fine fashion with a 2-1 win. Dallas fell to Anaheim in Game 6 in 2014, lost to Minnesota in Game 5 this season and lost to St. Louis in Game 2 Sunday. Hertl then fired a shot just under Rinne’s glove on the short side.
The Blues are just as good, if not better, than the Stars despite a 2-1 loss in game 1. However, the Blues understand it’s not a recipe for success moving forward to lose a lead, only to try and recapture momentum. It was almost ideal.
It’s been a habit of this team for years now, and it nearly cost it here.
Brian Elliott. We’ve said it so many times in the playoffs, but this guy is winning games for the Blues. Sleeping on the Stars for even a few minutes can be fatal. “So we’re down one and now we’ve got to respond”.
Orpik hit Maatta in the head after the puck was gone four minutes into Game 2 Saturday and was given a two-minute minor penalty for interference. One worked decidedly better than the other. Though he’s been pretty stellar in the face-off circle so far (56.7% in the playoffs), he’s not given the Blues the scoring support they need to truly put teams away in the postseason, which is a big reason he was brought on two summers ago. Maybe it’s no surprise the Blues played with less urgency when he was stapled on the bench late.
“He brings enthusiasm, a big smile on his face, a willingness to do whatever it takes to win right now”, Dallas coach Lindy Ruff said of Faksa. “But we don’t have to feed it all the time”. He was slow on the forecheck, soft in his battles and timid with possession. F Craig Smith (lower body) missed his third game of the playoffs and Eric Nystrom got the nod in his place. And you can see it in his game.
Stars goaltender Antti Niemi stopped 19 of 20 shots in relief of starter Kari Lehtonen, who was pulled after one period. He played 4:47 on a Blues penalty kill that was a ideal 4-for-4 against a power play that was fourth in the National Hockey League this season. You have to jump to the second page of the NHL’s save percentage “leaders” to find them. I thought he tried hard, but he just needed a little quickness on a couple of plays.
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Antoine Roussel scored the opener in the second period with his second goal of the play-offs coming after a rebound following Faksa’s initial shot, giving the Stars a 1-0 lead. Seconds later, Backes buried the victor. But it was Roussel who skated out of the box as the Blues celebrated.
