Game 2: BLUES at STARS
Western Conference Second Round
Dallas leads best-of-7 series 1-0
TV: 3 p.m. ET; NBC, SN, TVA Sports
The Dallas Stars are looking for a repeat performance against the St. Louis Blues in Game 2 on Sunday and will try to take a 2-0 lead before the Stanley Cup Playoff series shifts to St. Louis for Games 3 and 4.
The Stars outhit the Blues 32-26 and shut down St. Louis leading scorer Vladimir Tarasenko along with his "STL Line" teammates Jaden Schwartz and Jori Lehtera in a 2-1 win in Game 1 at American Airlines Center on Friday.
"Well, obviously he's the one guy that we got a radar on, that we know when he's out there, we want to make sure we don't give him much ice, and I thought for the most part we didn't make any mistakes that allowed any big rush plays when he was out there," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said of Tarasenko. "We closed fast on him inside the zone. We went after him physically and he's a tough guy to knock off his feet, but I thought we played him as hard as we could when he came to the physical front."
Recap: STL 1, DAL 2
04:15 • April 29th, 2016
Tarasenko, whose ice time against the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round was limited, led Blues forwards in Game 1 with 21:04. He said he needs to be better in Game 2.
"I just need to take a look at my shifts and make adjustments," Tarasenko said. "All teams play kind of the same, all teams are physical. Everybody try to hit you as much as they can. You know, you need to a player that nobody can break. It's a good challenge and it's a fun part of the year."
Blues team scope: St. Louis could insert forward Ryan Reaves into the lineup. Reaves hasn't played since Game 2 against the Blackhawks. Left wing Scottie Upshall was the lone skater not to take part in practice Saturday. Hitchcock said Upshall took a maintenance day and "he'll continue to be maintenance right throughout this series." Reaves was playing fourth-line right wing in place of Steve Ott, who was part of the extra forwards at practice. "All available assets are at our disposal," Hitchcock said. "Let me put it this way: We do not have an injury that would prevent me from making a decision."
Stars team scope: Dallas will be without right wing Patrick Eaves, who coach Lindy Ruff said is day-to-day with a foot injury. Eaves was hit by a point shot from teammate Stephen Johns in the third period of Game 1 and did not return. Eaves did not skate Saturday and was at the practice facility on crutches. Ruff said forward Valeri Nichushkin will play. "Yeah, nothing serious, just a real bad shot [Eaves] took to the leg and should be just day-to-day," Ruff said. "I know it always look serious, but it's all part of the recouping process. ... by the looks of things, I would say questionable unless it comes around, but it's awfully sore." Center Tyler Seguin (Achilles) is out for Game 2. The Stars recalled forwards Brett Ritchie and Curtis McKenzie from Texas of the American Hockey League.
Your pregame musicScoring depth and dependable goaltending are believed to be the Dallas Stars' biggest obstacles to a Stanley Cup run.
They showed they're capable of both in Game 1 of their second-round series with the St. Louis Blues.
As Dallas tries to build off a strong all-around performance, the Blues know they'll need an improved effort Sunday to draw even.
The Stars dictated play throughout much of Friday's 2-1 victory, though the outcome remained in doubt until the end. Rookie Radek Faksa scored the tiebreaking goal on a rebound with 4:44 remaining, and Kari Lehtonen withstood a furious St. Louis surge in the final minutes to maintain Dallas' home-ice advantage.
On a night when Tyler Seguin remained out of the lineup and Jamie Benn and Jason Spezza weren't major factors, the Stars received a big lift from their third line of Faksa, Antoine Roussel and Alex Hemsky. The trio accounted for both goals, with the 22-year-old Faksa setting up Roussel for the game's initial score midway through the second.
"He's a heck of a player," Spezza said of Faksa, who spent much of the regular season in the AHL. "He's always in the right spot.''
Lehtonen played a key role as well, recording 14 of his 31 saves in the final period. The 12-year veteran improved to 4-1 with a 2.01 goals-against average this postseason, bringing some needed stability to a goaltending position that was often a weakness during the regular season as he and Antti Niemi split time.
Dallas led the NHL with 265 goals en route to edging the Blues for the West's best record, with much of that production coming from its core of Benn, Seguin, Spezza and Patrick Sharp. That also was the case in its opening-round series with Minnesota in which Benn, Spezza and Sharp registered 11 of the team's 21 goals.
With better balance likely key to advancing against one of the league's stingiest defensive teams, Friday's result has to be viewed as encouraging.
"I thought we played a good game," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. "I thought our energy was good and got better as the game went on. I thought we skated well. I thought we defended well. I thought we were physical. That's a good start to the series for us."
For St. Louis, the goal will be regaining the intensity and physicality it displayed in a grueling seven-game series with rival Chicago. The Blues came out sluggish in Game 1, with Dallas owning a 31-17 shot advantage over the first two periods and finishing with a 32-26 edge in hits.
St. Louis outhit the Blackhawks 283-206 in the opening round, while Dallas ranked 26th in the league in that category during the regular season.
"They outplayed us and deserved to win this one," captain David Backes said. "We need to regroup and find our game and play for a full 60 minutes like we did in the first series. I think we will be just fine. It's going to be another long, tight, hard hitting, fun matchup; but we have to get to our game sooner and for longer."
Getting Vladimir Tarasenko back on track is another priority. The Blues' top scorer has been held to one goal over the last four games after recording three with two assists over the first four of the Chicago series.
St. Louis does continue to receive solid work from Brian Elliott, who kept the Blues in the opener with 40 saves.
Elliott again won't have to deal with Seguin, who has played just once in these playoffs due to a lingering Achilles injury. Forward Patrick Eaves, who had five points in the Minnesota series, is also out after exiting Game 1 with a foot injury.
Your pregame motivational speech
