The St. Louis Blues force an elimination game at home with a 4-1 win in Dallas. They reclaim the series lead at 3-2.
Ken Hitchcock mixed up the lines, and the boys didn’t look good at first.
The Blues opened up the scoring with the help of Kevin Shattenkirk and Robby Fabbri. Shatty looked great in the first. His passes were crisp and he was in the right spot each shift. He found Fabbri in the offensive zone. Fabric looked to assist Troy Brouwer, but the pass hit off of a Stars’ defensemen and slid into the net.
Although the Blues grabbed the early lead, they didn’t keep it for more than five minutes. Alex Goligoski tied the game with his fourth goal. The Stars continued to dominate the first period with 10 shots on goal.
Then Hitchcock switched the lines back, and the Blues woke up.
Dmitrij Jaskin was in for Ryan Reaves, and he took advantage of his first postseason appearance this year. Jay Bouwmeester found Jaskin, who knocked in his own rebound to give the Blues a 2-1 lead in the second period.
Troy Brouwer joined in the goal-scoring as he knocked in a pass from Paul Stastny to extend the Blues’ lead to two goals. Heading into the third period, the Blues led 3-1.
The third period was pure defense (Brian Elliott). The blues allowed 12 shots while only taking 3. However, Paul Stastny sealed the deal with an empty-net goal late in the third. The Blues went on to win 4-1, and will head back to St. Louis with a chance to end the Stars’ season at home.
Let’s. Go. Blues.
