Arch Authority
Fansided

St. Louis Blues’ Season Comes Down to Game 7 Battle with Dallas Stars

By Patrick Karraker

May 9, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Blues goalie Brian Elliott (1) reacts after allowing a goal scored by Dallas Stars center Jason Spezza (not pictured) during there first period in game six of the second round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
May 9, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Blues goalie Brian Elliott (1) reacts after allowing a goal scored by Dallas Stars center Jason Spezza (not pictured) during there first period in game six of the second round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports /
twitterfacebookreddit
Prev
1 of 3
Next
St. Louis Blues Dallas Stars
May 9, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Blues goalie Brian Elliott (1) reacts after allowing a goal scored by Dallas Stars center Jason Spezza (not pictured) during there first period in game six of the second round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports /

After an extremely deflating Game 6 loss to the Dallas Stars at Scottrade Center, the St. Louis Blues will head back to Dallas and try to win their second-round series on the road.

The St. Louis Blues had a fantastic chance to lock up their second-round series with the Dallas Stars in Monday night’s Game 6, which would have allowed them to advance to the Conference Finals for the first time since the 2000-01 season. The Blues let that chance get away. Goalie Brian Elliott, who has been as strong as they come all postseason, had a rough night and let three goals in on seven shots. Defensemen like Jay Bouwmeester, Kevin Shattenkirk, and Robert Bortuzzo weren’t sturdy enough in front of their own net and contributed to Stars goals. Two players who are usually some of the Blues’ most reliable, Vladimir Tarasenko and Colton Parayko, got into turnover trouble and prevented the whole operation from running smoothly. Everything was extremely frustrating, but now everything resets as the two teams travel back to American Airlines Center, where the Blues have won two games following losses in this series.

The biggest potential variable in the equation–the return of Stars forward Tyler Seguin from an injury that’s limited him to one postseason game–won’t be in play on Wednesday, as Seguin was declared out by coach Lindy Ruff on Tuesday. This means that the Blues will just have to outplay the same Stars team that they’ve been able to dominate for a solid chunk of this series, as they’ve outscored the Stars 14-5 in their three wins throughout the series. As long as the Blues don’t play a period as poor as their first one on Monday, during which they allowed three goals on seven shots, while Troy Brouwer took a costly penalty at 16:14 which allowed Jason Spezza to score a power-play goal and ice the game for Dallas.

After Elliott was pulled for backup Jake Allen on Monday, there was some debate about whether “Moose” would be allowed to get back between the pipes on Wednesday. After the morning skate, though, it was revealed that Elliott will indeed get his 14th straight playoff start and 20th straight start overall.

Check the next few pages to find out more about what the Blues and Stars’ lineups will look like for Game 7:

Next: Blues Lineup

Home/St. Louis Blues