Home has been far from a haven for the Stars and the Blues so far in their second-round playoff series. The road team has won four of the six games, and that could be bad news for the Blues in Tuesday's winner-take-all Game 7. Dallas won on the road to go up 3-2 on St. Louis, before the Blues returned the favor in Game 6 at the American Airlines Center.
Ben Bishop's night ended early in Game 6 when he apparently took a puck to the neck in a 2-1 game in the third period. As Bishop was down on the ice, the Blues scored to make it 3-1 and would put one more on the board before the game was over.
According to Bishop, that incident won't impede him from playing in Game 7, which is good news for a Stars team that has kept goals scarce for the Blues this series with Bishop in net. With that being said, they have to generate offense if they're going to advance against a Blues team that has found steady scoring in Jaden Schwartz. Slowing Schwartz down needs to be priority No. 1 for the Stars in this game.
The Stars should have a bit more scoring depth on paper, but they don't have anyone over five goals this postseason. Alexander Radulov and Roope Hintz are tied for the team lead. The Stars need Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn to step up, not only in this game, but if they do manage to advance to the next round. Seguin has seven assists, but he led the team in goals this season. The playoffs need good players to be great, and the Stars haven't gotten that consistently so far. Perhaps it can start on Tuesday.
Games on NBC and NBCSN can be streamed via fuboTV (Try for free).
Stanley Cup Playoffs for Tuesday, May 7A wacky first period in St. Louis
It was an eventful first period of Game 7 in St. Louis and we're all even at 1-1 after 20 minutes. The Blues got on the board first when Vince Dunn threw a puck on net from the point which sailed past Ben Bishop, off the crossbar and into the back of the net. It looked like Dunn's shot may have been tipped by Patrick Maroon but the goal was officially credited to Dunn.
The Stars got the goal back later in the period thanks to some serious puck luck and help from a referee. Blues' winger David Perron turned the puck over near his own goal line when he attempted to make a pass that banked off a ref's skate and redirected toward the middle of the ice. Dallas' Mats Zuccarello gathered it and took advantage of an out-of-sorts Jordan Binnington in net. Binnington had just lost his stick and was attempting to get his bearings when Zuccarello's shot zipped by him for the equalizer.
