ST. LOUIS 6
DALLAS 1
(Blues lead series 2-1)
ST. LOUIS 鈥� This time, the St. Louis Blues knew what to do with a two-goal lead. Go for more, more, more.
Alexander Steen and David Backes had two goals apiece and the defence put the clamps on the Dallas Stars in a 6-1 victory that put them up 2-1 in the second-round series Tuesday night.
Vladimir Tarasenko had a goal and two assists, Troy Brouwer had a goal and assist and Brian Elliott was strong when he needed to be for the Blues in their first lopsided triumph of the post-season. Their other five wins were decided by one goal, including 4-3 in overtime in Game 3 after the Stars came from two goals down.
鈥淟ast game in the third period, we had a little bit of a letdown, sitting back on our heels, and we made it more of a game than we wanted to be,鈥� Brouwer said. 鈥淭onight, we kept pushing, we kept attacking.鈥�
The Blues finished two points behind Western Conference champion Dallas in the regular season and have control of the series heading into Game 4 Thursday night in St. Louis. Despite a late start 鈥� more than 1 1/2 hours past the usual puck drop 鈥� the vast majority of a standing-room crowd of 19,323 stuck around to the finish.
鈥淐redit everybody in the room that they bought in,鈥� Backes said. 鈥淲e had probably our most complete effort of the post-season, and a good time to have it.鈥�
St. Louis scored six unanswered goals after Colton Sceviour gave Dallas the early advantage, three coming in a breakaway second period. Steen capped the big second period with a power-play goal, matching his post-season career high for goals in a game.
鈥淗e鈥檚 one of the most complete players in the league,鈥� coach Ken Hitchcock said. 鈥淚 think if he would have been healthy, he would have had a real shot at the Selke (Trophy).鈥�
Antti Niemi was the lone major lineup change for Game 3, replacing Kari Lehtonen in the Stars鈥� net after playing effectively the last two periods plus overtime in Game 2. That switch didn鈥檛 last long, and it didn鈥檛 matter.
Lehtonen was back early in the second after Niemi allowed three goals on 12 shots.
鈥淚t hasn鈥檛 been a goalie issue, really,鈥� said defenceman Alex Goligoski, who was beaten on one goal and had a second go in off his skate. 鈥淲e鈥檙e giving up some big chances, at bad times, early in games.
鈥淟ost confidence in our goalies is not an issue. It鈥檚 our game.鈥�
The third period turned nasty when Stephen Johns boarded Alex Pietrangelo with 3:01 to go, leading to a pummeling of Curtis McKenzie by Blues regulator Ryan Reaves. Backes scored his fifth of the post-season during the 4-on-4, giving the captain his first career multi-goal game.
Tarasenko also had a three-point game in the first round against Chicago. He鈥檚 the first St. Louis player with multiple three-point games in the post-season since Doug Weight also had two in 2003. He has 15 goals in 23 career playoff games and relished the chance for some open ice.
鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of a new experience for us, this playoffs,鈥� Tarasenko said. 鈥淚 still think it doesn鈥檛 matter how you win, it still counts as one win.鈥�
Sceviour tapped in his own rebound for the Stars鈥� lone goal at 4:44 of the first. Just 1:07 later, Steen tied it on a play that developed off a turnover by Alex Goligoski.
Backes, who got the winning goal on an overtime power play in Game 2, put St. Louis ahead on another power play on a deflection at 16:10.
The Stars just missed a chance to tie it late in the period. Jason Demers鈥� shot off the crossbar was ruled a goal on the ice, but it was waved off after video review.
鈥淚nstead of being discouraged, I think we were in a different mental frame of mind,鈥� Hitchcock said. 鈥淚nches or whatever, but that crossbar gave us a different attitude going into the second period.鈥�
The rest was all St. Louis.
Brouwer skated in alone, getting around Goligoski, for his third goal of the post-season. Tarasenko scored off Goligoski鈥檚 skate and Steen scored on a power play to make it 5-1 after two.
Notes: The Blues鈥� margin of victory matched their largest in the playoffs since a 6-1 decision in Game 4 of the first round last season at Minnesota. ... Earlier in the day, Stars coach Lindy Ruff said F Patrick Eaves (lower body) could return for Game 4, and should be back by Game 5 at the latest. ... Counting the post-season, Blue D Kevin Shattenkirk has 25 points in 25 games against Dallas. ... Steen also had two goals against the Kings on April 30, 2013.
Elsewhere in the NHL on Tuesday:
LIGHTNING 5, ISLANDERS 4
NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Brian Boyle scored at 2:48 of overtime to lift the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 5-4 victory over the New York Islanders on Tuesday night for a 2-1 lead in their second-round series.
Nikita Kucherov tied it in the final minute of regulation, and Ryan Callahan, Victor Hedman and Vladislav Namestnikov also scored for the Lightning. Ben Bishop stopped 35 shots.
On the winning goal, the Lightning were on an odd-man rush and Hedman fired a shot from the left side that was wide, but the rebound came off the boards and right to Boyle in front at the right side of the goal and he tapped it in for the win.
Josh Bailey, back after missing the first two games of this series with an upper-body injury, had two goals, and Nick Leddy and Cal Clutterbuck also scored for the Islanders. Thomas Greiss finished with 36 saves.
Game 4 of the best-of-seven series is Friday night.
PREDATORS 4, SHARKS 1
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) 鈥� Shea Weber scored the go-ahead goal and had an assist and the Nashville Predators beat the San Jose Sharks to pull within 2-1 in their Western Conference second-round series.
James Neal and Filip Forsberg each scored on the power-play, Colin Wilson had a goal, and Pekka Rinne made 26 saves for Nashville.
Patrick Marleau scored for the Sharks, who lost for the first time away from San Jose this post-season and first since a loss at Arizona on March 17.
