When you hear the Blues and Stars, you’d have to think that there will be fireworks. Instead a goaltending duel was in store for fans in Game 1 with the Stars taking the series lead in a tight 2-1 victory. The Stars seem to have settled in with their goaltending with Kari Lehtonen withstanding a furious St. Louis surge to get the win on Dallas’ home-ice.
Will goaltending remain tight in Game 2? Or will these two teams blow the roof off American Airlines Center? Read on as we take a look at this exciting playoff matchup. Get a look at how the Western Conference is shaping out to be with our complete Game 2 preview for the Predators vs. Sharks.
The St. Louis Blues came out slugging in Game 1. They were outshot 31-17 over the first two periods and were outhit 32-26. They lacked the fire they had in the first round, in which they outhit the Blackhawks 283-206 in a seven-game thriller.
St. Louis needs to get their offense firing. Vladimir Tarasenko is the man they need to get them started. He’s the Blues’ top scorer in the regular season (73 points and 40 goals) and postseason (four goals). Tarasenko has been held to just one goal over his last four games, though, after recording three with two assists over the first four games in the Chicago series.
Tarasenko can get some help from a couple of good playmakers on the team. Jaden Schwartz has stepped up in the playoffs, leading the team with seven points. Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo has also been good with a team-high five assists.
Some offense should help relieve some of the pressure off goalie Brian Elliott, who was solid stopping 40 of 42 shots in Game 1. The total has gone under in four of Elliott’s last five games against the Stars.
The Blues are +275 to appear in the Stanley Cup Final.
Betting on the Dallas Stars
Many said that the Dallas Stars didn’t have the goaltending and scoring depth to succeed in the playoffs. The West’s best proved their doubters wrong, at least for Game 1 of their conference semifinal series against St. Louis.
Kari Lehtonen was sharp, allowing just one goal in the Game 1 victory. While the third line of Radek Faksa, Antoine Roussel and Alex Hemsky was to be commended for both of Dallas’ goals. Faksa scored the tiebreaking goal on a rebound with 4:44 remaining and assisted Roussel in the second for the game’s initial score.
Dallas’ stars Jamie Benn, Patrick Sharp and Jason Spezza had to take a backseat in Game 1 with none of them tallying a point. Benn, Sharp and Spezza registered 11 of the team’s 21 goals in the first round. Don’t expect them to keep quiet for long. The Stars have shown that they can win without the trio, but they’ll need their scorers contributing to totally dominate this series.
The Stars have now won nine of their last 10 at home. Their dominant form at home has them as +140 favorites to win the Western Conference.
Writer’s Prediction
The Stars’ (EVEN) key players step up to take a 2-0 series lead heading into Game 3.
