St. Louis offense overpowers Dallas goaltenders in Game 3 win
Before Tuesday’s Game 3 at the St. Louis Blues the Dallas Stars tried to play coy with their goaltenders.
Coach Lindy Ruff wouldn’t say who would start, perhaps to confuse the Blues in their preparation. The Stars ended up using both netminders, but neither could stop St. Louis’ offense in the Blues’ 6-1 drubbing of the Stars.
[Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Hockey contest today]
With the win, St. Louis took a 2-1 series lead with Game 4 on Thursday at Scottrade Center.
Dallas struck first with a Colton Sceviour goal at the 4:44 mark of the first period, but from that point on, it was all Blues. Alexander Steen knotted the game at 1-1 at the 5:41 mark.
Then at the 16:10 mark of the first period David Backes scored on the power play to put the Blues up 2-1 and give them a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Sniper Vladimir Tarasenko fired a second period goal and added two assists to finally bust loose. He hadn’t picked up a point in three games and had one goal in his prior five contests.
“A good sign tonight, we didn’t take our foot off the gas, kept playing the right way for a full 60 minutes,” Backes said according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “That’s what we’re looking for. We got it, but it’s only one game. We’ve got to start all over again on Thursday, start from 0-0, and establish our game.”
Ruff started Antti Niemi in goal, but Niemi didn’t last through the second period. Ruff yanked the goaltender at the 2:34 mark of the second after he had allowed three scores on 12 shots on goal. Kari Lehtonen – who started Games 1 and 2 – didn’t do much better, allowing three goals on 27 shots on goal.
“It hasn’t been a goalie issue, really,” Stars defenseman Alex Goligoski said according to NHL.com. “We’re giving up some big chances, at bad times, early in games. We’re putting pucks in places we’re not supposed to, and they’ve been a little harder on some battles and put them in the back of our net, so give them credit.
Overall, the Blues were the more aggressive team, firing 39 shots on goal to the Stars’ 26 shots on goal. St. Louis also won the puck possession battle.
Stars captain Jamie Benn was held pointless for the second time in three games. Benn had notched a point in every game of the Stars’ six-game series win over the Minnesota Wild in the first-round of the playoffs.
MORE FROM YAHOO HOCKEY
– – – – – – –
Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper
