After Round 1, only two beasts remain in the Central Division and it's the top-seeded Stars and the battle-tested Blues, and they're set for a collision course in Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs, beginning Friday.
Dallas toppled the Minnesota Wild in six games to make it to the second round for the first time since the 2007-08 season, which was the last time it made it to the Western Conference Final.
St. Louis, meanwhile, overcame its playoff demons by escaping Round 1 for the first time since 2011-12, ending a three-year string of first-round exits. The Blues, who sent the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks home in seven games, haven't advanced to the conference finals since 2000-01.
This will be an epic series with some of the biggest names in the NHL going head-to-head. To view our slideshow, CLICK START at the top right of this page. Here are our predictions and a preview for this Central Division bracket Final and Western Conference semifinal matchup.
[Central No. 1] Dallas Stars (50-23-9, 109 points) vs. [No. 2] St. Louis Blues (49-24-9, 107 points)
Round 1 Reflection: Last round, we picked the Stars to beat the Wild in five games (they did in six) and the Blues to fall to the Blackhawks in seven (they won in seven).
Season Series: 4-1 Blues.
Special Teams (Playoffs): Stars: 21.1 percent power play (9th), 75.0 percent penalty kill (12th); Blues: 27.8 percent power play (4th), 68.4 percent penalty kill (15th).
Projected Goalie Matchup: Kari Lehtonen (3-1, 2.27 goals-against average, .911 save percentage), Stars; Brian Elliott (4-3, 2.40 GAA, .929 save percentage), Blues.
Series Overview: The Blues managed to bounce the Stanley Cup champions in Round 1, but their reward is a date with the top team in the Western Conference in the regular season in Round 2. The Stars had some difficulty eliminating an injury-riddled Wild team, but boast a fantastic offense and will look to beat a Blues club that finished with just two less points in the regular season.
The season series was lopsided in St. Louis' favor, though three of those contests were decided by one goal and two went to overtime.
A key reason for St. Louis' victory in Round 1 was the defense shutting down Chicago superstars Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, who were held to one goal combined. Alex Pietrangelo had a standout series, but he'll have to lead the Blues defensive corps against another 1-2 punch in Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin, the latter whom will miss at least the first two games with an Achilles injury.
Benn finished the opening round ranked second in the NHL with nine points and tied for second with four goals. His six assists were knotted for the league lead, while Stars forward Jason Spezza ranked tied for third in points (9) and goals (4). Patrick Sharp had three goals against the Wild, while Patrick Eaves racked up five points. Defenseman John Klingberg went 1-2--3 in his first playoff series.
Dallas boasts a prolific offense that ranked first in the NHL with 3.23 goals per game in the regular season and followed it up by tying for first in the NHL with 21 goals through the opening round.
Pietrangelo, Kevin Shattenkirk and the rest of the Blues defense will look to shut Dallas down, though they did give up the second-most goals (20) in the first round and managed to survive as the series went the distance. The Blues offense includes one of the game's most explosive players in Vladimir Tarasenko, who tied for third with four goals through Round 1.
Jaden Schwartz had a huge series against the Blackhawks, notching a club-best seven points (ranked fifth in the NHL) and scoring three goals. Pietrangelo averaged over half a game on ice (30:33) and put up six points against Chicago. Rookie Robby Fabbri had a breakout series, putting up five points and registering a plus-3 rating. The Blues were third with 19 goals-for last round.
The goaltending battle should prove interesting. Lehtonen gained a ton of confidence by earning his first ever postseason series win against Minnesota, but Lindy Ruff has playoff-tested Antti Niemi waiting in the wings if his incumbent falters.
Elliott put all of his doubters on notice by coming up with a huge playoff performance against the Blackhawks, but if struggles creep up, Ken Hitchcock may turn to Jake Allen.
Last Call: Seguin's loss could prove to be pivotal for the Stars, especially if Spezza or any of the other forwards don't rise to the occasion to complement Benn. If Pietrangelo and company can shutdown Benn and keep the Stars' big guns at bay, the Blues could very well take the series. Elliott is beginning to gain confidence and now that this group finally has the stigma of first-round failure off of its back, it seems primed to overcome the mighty Stars.
The Pick: Blues in 6.
