With their crazy Round 1 series' behind them, the Blues and Stars get set to face-off for Round 2 when the puck drops at the American Airlines Center in Dallas for Game 1 of this Stanley Cup playoff series.
Dallas, the top seed in the Central Division's bracket, bounced the Wild in six games last round to advance. St. Louis, meanwhile, overcame its Round 1 demons and eliminated the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks in a grueling seven-game series.
The Stars are in the second round for the first time since the 2007-08 postseason and will look to make it to the Western Conference Final for the first time since that very same campaign.
After three straight first-round exits, the Blues are in Round 2 for the first time since the 2011-12 playoffs and will look to move to the conference finals for the first time since 2000-01.
The main reason the Blues were able to advance was because Alex Pietrangelo and the rest of the defense was able to shut down the Blackhawks' big guns.. The Stars will hope to break through, while St. Louis tries to halt a team that scored an NHL-best 3.23 goals per game this season and 21 tallies in Round 1.
"Everything needs to go up," Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said via NHL.com. "Dallas is [the] No. 1 scoring team in the league for a reason. They've got it right throughout their lineup. They've really got it on the back end. They've got great mobility back there. They're dangerous if you let them get loose."
Stars captain Jamie Benn finished the opening round ranked second in the NHL with nine points and tied for second with four goals. His six assists gave him a share of the league lead, while forward Jason Spezza ranked tied for third in points (9) and goals (4).
One potent goal-scorer who won't suit up for at least the first two games of this series is Tyler Seguin, who remains sidelined with an ankle injury.
"I really can't [say when he'll start skating]," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said per NHL.com. "I don't even have a guesstimate on it. I don't even think it'd be fair if I guessed and if I'm off, everybody else will be wondering, why did he guess that?"
St. Louis' offense was paced by Jaden Schwartz in Round 1, who notched a club-best seven points (ranked fifth in the NHL) and scored three goals. Pietrangelo averaged over half a game on ice (30:33) and put up six points against Chicago.
Kari Lehtonen will suit up between the pipes for Dallas and is 3-1 with a 2.27 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage in the playoffs. St. Louis will counter with Brian Elliott in the blue paint and he owns a 4-3 record with a 2.40 GAA and a .929 save percentage thus far this postseason.
Game Preview & Live Stream
Details: Blues at Stars Game 1
Venue: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas.
Time: 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. CT).
Radio: St. Louis (KMOX 1120); Dallas (KTCK 97.6)
Prediction: Our predictions for this series can be found here.
Betting Odds: The latest betting odds can be found here.
Watch Online: This game can be live streamed for free here.
