The St. Louis Blues dominated Wednesday night’s Game 7 from puck drop to final horn in a 6-1 rout of the Dallas Stars, who paced the Western Conference with 109 points during the regular season but couldn’t advance past the Stanley Cup playoffs’ second round.
It wasn’t quite an improbable series victory for the Blues, who finished second behind Dallas in the Central Division with 107 points, but they weren’t a popular pick to escape the first round versus the Chicago Blackhawks, let alone advance this far. Ho hum.
It was St. Louis’ first Game 7 road win since 1999 against the then-Phoenix Coyotes and marks its first trip to the conference finals since 2001. The Blues scored five even-strength goals in the first two periods and tacked on an empty-netter in the final frame for good measure.
The offense wasn’t the only aspect of St. Louis’ game that shined, though, as goaltender Brian Elliott made 31 saves in 32 chances, including going a perfect seven for seven against power-play shots. A few of his saves were downright inhuman, too.
The Blues will play the winner of the San Jose Sharks-Nashville Predators series in the Western Conference finals, which open Sunday.
Thumbnail photo via Jerome Miron/USA TODAY Sports Images
