ST. LOUIS, MO – After being dominated in Game Three, the Dallas Stars knew they had to show up better in Game Four. A loss would mean heading home to Dallas and facing elimination. Coupled with stellar goaltending at timely moments and clutch goaltending, the Dallas Stars have tied their series with St. Louis.
Cody Eakin scored at 2:38 of overtime from the left side, off a feed from Patrick Sharp and a pass from Jamie Been out of the Dallas zone. It capped a night where Dallas fell behind, went ahead and then allowed St. Louis to tie before victory in the extra period.
St. Louis opened the scoring midway through the opening frame. After Dallas failed to convert on an advance in the St. Louis zone, Blues forward Jaden Schwartz dug the puck away from the side boards and slid a stretch pass to a backwards skating Vladimir Tarasenko. The St. Louis sniper accepted the pass, turned and crossed into the Dallas zone before sending a puck through the legs of Stars’ goalie Kari Kehtnonen. It was the edge St Louis needed after dominating Game Three.
A few minutes later Troy Brouwer had a similar opportunity, but Lehtonen stoned him. Dallas led in shots after one period 8-7, but St. Louis led in its 16-10. Blues goalie Brian Elliott was hardly tested.
St. Louis started strong on the Dallas net, but Lehtonen made several saves early to keep the score 1-0. That changed a little more than four minutes into the second period when St. Louis turned the puck over in their zone. Joel Edmunsdon attempted to fire the puck up the middle out of the corner when Radek Faksa was waiting. Faksa eased in on Elliott and fired the puck between the goaltender’s legs to tie the game. It quieted an otherwise robust home crowd for St. Louis.
Things soon worsened a little more than a minute later when Dallas extended their lead. Having gone 0 for 13 in the series up to this point, the Stars were awarded their 14th powerplay when Blues captain David Backes was called for tripping Mattias Janmark. Patrick Sharp netted a man-advantage goal from Jason Spezza and Jamie Benn to give the visiting Stars the 2-1 lead. It took very little time for St. Louis to lose the lead and the momentum.
Dallas pressed for more, but it was St. Louis who lit the lamp next. With a rare 4-on-3 advantage, the Blues went to work with lots of space. It helped as the skill players set-up and waited for the right opening. It came when Alex Steen fed Vladimir Tarasenko at the top of the right circle. Tarasenko considered a shot, but instead decided to send the puck to Paul Stastny, just in front of the Dallas goal, tipped the puck past Lehtonen to tie the game.
Both teams traded chances the remainder of the period, but it remained a 2-2 score after two. Dallas led in shots 18-16 after two, but St. Louis led in hits 25-19.
The third period featured balanced play at both ends with several good chances, but not enough to find victory in regulation.
The series continues in Dallas with Game Five Saturday afternoon (1:00 PM. ET; NBC, SN, TVA Sports). Game Six will be played in St. Louis on Monday, May 9th (time and networks to be determined).
Follow me on Twitter at DMMORRELL and you can contact me at dennis.morrell@prohockeynews.com
You must be logged in to post a comment.