NHL teams
Craig Custance, ESPN Senior Writer 8y

Rapid Reaction: St. Louis Blues 4, Dallas Stars 3 (OT)

DALLAS -- The captain got the ship back on track. St. Louis Blues captain David Backes banged home a rebound in overtime to beat the Dallas Stars 4-3 in Game 2 and steal home ice advantage away from the Stars.

How it happened: The Blues ramped up their physical game and had the push back you’d expect from a Stanley Cup contender, especially early on. After allowing the first goal of the game on an Alex Goligoski shot off a pass from Jamie Benn, St. Louis chased goalie Kari Lehtonen with the next three goals (Patrik Berglund, Joel Edmundson and Troy Brouwer). Lehtonen was pulled in favor of Antti Niemi after stopping just two of the first five shots he faced. Niemi finished the game with 19 saves.

Coach Ken Hitchcock reinserted the physical Ryan Reaves into the lineup, and he set the tone early and often, with five hits in the first two periods. In all, the Blues out-hit the Stars 42-23 after registering just 26 hits in an uninspiring Game 1 for St. Louis.

The Stars tied the game with two third-period goals from Mattias Janmark and one from Jamie Benn to send the game into overtime after the Blues tried unsuccessfully to sit on a two-goal lead in the third. The overtime goal from Backes rescued what was almost a blown opportunity by the Blues.

What it means: This series looks as if it’s going to be every bit as long and back-and-forth as originally expected. Dallas’ speed gave the Blues trouble in Game 1, and it was the St. Louis physicality and balanced goal-scoring that evened things up in a strong answer for the Blues in Game 2.

Until this game, Lehtonen had been strong for the Stars, and his shaky first period reopens the goaltending rotation in Dallas. They’ve done it all season long, so it’s nothing new, but it would be ideal if Lehtonen can seize the job and build off his strong start.

Now Stars coach Lindy Ruff is faced with a decision in goal moving forward.

The Blues, once again, showed their resiliency in this postseason by recovering from a blown lead to pull off the win in overtime.

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