NHL Playoffs, Blues vs. Stars Game 3: Full recap and highlights

The Dallas Stars fell to the St. Louis Blues in a 6-1 in OT in Game 3, going down 2-1 to the Blues.

It’s safe to say neither team will go down without a fight. Just 4:44 into the first period, Colton Sceviour put the puck in St. Louis’ net for Dallas, with assists from Jason Spezza and Johnny Oduya. Now, in Game 2, the Blues responded 35 seconds after the Stars scored the first goal of the game. In Game 3, it took them 57 seconds, but still, the Blues wasted no time getting on the board. Alexander Steen scored the goal for St. Louis, assisted by Paul Stastny and Troy Brouwer.

The first period remained relatively clean until Scotty Upshall was penalized for high-sticking Oduya 13:08 into the period. The Stars were unable to capitalize on the power play, and just shy of three minutes later got their own penalty when Vernon Fiddler slashed Jaden Schwartz. Unfortunately for the Stars, St. Louis was ready to take advantage of the situation. David Backes scored his 9th career postseason goal on the power play, putting the Blues ahead 2-1. He was assisted by Kevin Shattenkirk and Vladimir Tarasenko. Jason Demers nearly scored for Dallas, but a review ultimately marked the goal as invalid, as the puck was clearly not passed the goal line.

The second quarter followed the dramatic collapse of the Dallas defense. Troy Brouwer scored the third goal for St. Louis 2:34 into the period, completely flying passed Kris Russell who seemed to not understand the concept of getting in front of the puck.

At that point, Dallas did a goalie switch-up, putting Kari Lehtonen back in the crease for Antti Niemi. But in no time, the Blues would show that the change in goaltender would make no difference. Just 1:16 later, Tarasenko would score, bringing the Blues to a 4-1 lead. Klingberg had forced a giveaway, and Tarasenko luckily got the puck in the net because it deflected in off of Alex Goligoski’s skate.

This is the third time in this postseason that the Stars have allowed 3+ consecutive goals inside a game. However, the Stars have also scored 3+ consecutive goals twice this postseason, thus giving Dallas some hope of getting back in the game.

Antoine Roussel would yet again be the black cat for the Stars, however. After he received a two minute delay of game penalty for shooting the puck over the glass, Steen scored his second goal of the night at 18:03.

After a dramatically embarrassing second period for the Stars, period three was relatively slow moving in comparison.  At 16:59 Dallas AHL recall Curtis McKenzie and Blues’ Ryan Reaves each got five minutes in the penalty box for fighting, and Stephen Johns got two minutes for boarding Alex Pietrangelo. With so many players down, it was no surprise that St. Louis would get an advantage. At 18:06, Backes scored a shorthanded goal, bringing the game to its final score of 6-1, Blues.

Three Stars

1.LW Alexander Steen (Blues)
Steen scored two goals during the game.

2. C David Backes (Blues)
The captain added not only the go-ahead goal on a power play at the end of the first period but also the team’s sixth goal at the end of the third. He also got a game-high nine hits. 

3. C Colton Sceviour (Stars)
You have to give Sceviour some credit for scoring Dallas’ only goal of the game. 

Highlights

For Stars fans? Well, the one and only Tony X. (@soIoucity) was in attendance:

And AHL recall Curtis McKenzie had no difficulty telling the Blues who’s boss:

For Blues fans? You dominated your rival at home. The entire game was a highlight.

Next Game

The Dallas Stars will try to even the series in Game 4 of the series against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday, May 5 at 9:30 PM ET. The game will be aired on NBC Sports Network.

For more coverage of the NHL Playoffs, make sure to check out our NHL hub page.