Dallas Stars To Blow Through Blues, Retake Series Lead
After letting the Blues tie up the series in Dallas, the Dallas Stars will have to abandon all ideas of coasting if they want to give themselves the series advantage in St. Louis tonight.
The Dallas Stars expected this to be a challenging series, and they’re getting what they thought they would. With the first home game at the AAC going to Dallas and the next to the Blues, the series is headed to St. Louis tonight, where the Stars need badly to win if they don’t want to fall too far behind to come back.
Puck drop is scheduled for 8:30 pm from Scottrade Center. You can catch what’s sure to be nail-biting action on NBCSN, and also on 1310AM/96.7FM The Ticket.
Storylines
There’s no place like home
With the action shifting to the Blues’ barn, St. Louis is more than confident in the home ice advantage. Looking for a repeat of their series with the Blackhawks in which they won half of their home games and went on to take the series, the Blues credit their fans for creating a stirring atmosphere that spurs them on to wins.
Although the Stars allowed the first away win of this series instead of taking it like they did against the Wild, the Stars have indeed shown that they can shine on enemy ice. In previous seasons, the Stars have found motivation from playing in front of less than supportive crowds, and they’ll need to draw on that ability to help them keep their play cool in St. Louis.
Consistency is key
The Stars have been falling short in the area of consistency, whether that be in playing at the same level for 60 minutes or in the area of special teams. With not many chances being given up by either team, it’s going to be the mistakes and the energy level that determines the winners tonight.
As far as energy level goes, the Stars were able to break out early and take the lead first in games one and two, but let their guard down and allowed the Blues’ special teams to drain them. It seems either the Stars are bursting out of the gates like firecrackers and creating huge leads for themselves that they go on to blow, or they are coming back from goal deficits late in the game. Dallas needs to find a happy medium where they don’t use up all their energy early on, and they don’t save it all for when it’s too late.
Zebra crossing
It’s no secret that the referees made a huge different in the outcome of game two. While the Stars can’t really do anything to change how the referees make their calls, whether fair or not, they can make the most of it by being ready for any penalties for or against them.
Dallas’ special teams were not up to the task in game two. St. Louis’ were, which was a key component of their win. If the Stars can find a way to get their power play to click again, they will be better prepared for whatever chances they may get on the man advantage.
Injury Report
The Dallas Stars are still without Tyler Seguin (lower body) and Patrick Eaves (lower body), but both skated on Monday and may be seen back in the lineup soon, but neither will be in for game three. Instead, we could see some of Curtis McKenzie and Brett Ritchie, who both have been called up to fill the void.
The St. Louis Blues are in the clear with no injuries to combat in game three.
More stars: Dallas Stars Goaltending: Expect Niemi In Game Three
Projected Lines
Dallas Stars
Jamie Benn –Cody Eakin –Patrick Sharp
Mattias Janmark –Jason Spezza –Valeri Nichushkin/ Brett Ritchie
Antoine Roussel –Radek Faksa –Ales Hemsky
Travis Moen –Vernon Fiddler –Colton Sceviour
Alex Goligoski –John Klingberg
St. Louis Blues
Jaden Schwartz –Jori Lehtera –Vladimir Tarasenko
Alex Steen –Paul Stastny –Troy Brouwer
Robby Fabbri –Patrik Berglund –David Backes
Scottie Upshall –Kyle Brodziak –Ryan Reaves
Jay Bouwmeester –Alex Pietrangelo
Joel Edmundson –Kevin Shattenkirk
Carl Gunnarsson –Colton Parayko
Next: Dallas Stars Face Biggest Test of Playoffs Tonight
Predictions
The Dallas Stars need to rally and take this one in St. Louis. So far, they’ve demonstrated that they’ve come too far to give up now, so if the Stars can outshine in special teams, they can put the Blues down on the road 4-3.