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DALLAS -- Once again, in overtime, St. Louis Blues captain David Backes was front and center. It was his goal that wiped out a Dallas Stars' comeback to give the Blues a 4-3 overtime win and even this series 1-1. He scored it on his 32nd birthday, no less. It was his second overtime winner of this postseason and his projection of confidence and leadership has been a major reason the Blues are exactly where they are right now. But the longer the Blues play in this postseason, the more another captain is starting to emerge. Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo played 35 minutes, 37 seconds in Game 2 and equaled Alexander Steen with a team-high 43 shifts. In a game in which the Stars kept trying to wrestle control, Pietrangelo would make a small play to setting things down. He played 4:47 on a Blues penalty kill that was a perfect 4-for-4 against a power play that was fourth in the NHL this season. Often, just when things look as if they're spiraling a bit out of control in favor of the Stars, there was Pietrangelo making another subtle move in another big moment. "He's the captain of the back end," Blues goalie Brian Elliott said simply after his 31-save effort.  Said Blues coach Ken Hitchcock: "Petro is always a good player when the stakes are the highest." This postseason, the Blues have shown a consistent ability to block out and bounce back from stretches of play that could have easily done them in. In this case, that stretch of play was a third period in which the Blues mistakenly tried to sit on a two-goal lead. This strategy wasn't an order from on high or the result of a team that collectively forgot how ineffective a strategy that was against the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 6 of the first round. It's just human nature working against the Blues' better judgment. They played conservatively, trying not to make a defensive mistake or decision that could cost the team. And in doing so, allowed the Stars back into the game. But in Pietrangelo, the Blues have a defenseman who -- even in those moments the ice is tilted in the opposition's favor -- makes a small play in the defensive zone to calmly skate the puck out of trouble. Or on the PK, pulls the puck out of a pile of bodies, makes a quick move and sends it down the ice. Actually, Backes corrected, those moments Pietrangelo creates in the defensive zone are anything but small. "We'll call them short plays, but they're not small, they're huge," Backes said. "He gets into a corner, he can dig a puck out and start the breakout, that takes the pressure off a little bit. We're able to get the puck up the ice rather than being occupied by them." On some level it's contagious. When his teammates on defense see him make those plays so effectively, it's motivation to do it themselves. "You see it being done and you think to yourself, 'If I'm in that situation, I can make that play.' He's just leading that way for us on the back end," defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk said. "It's tremendous." Backes was quick to praise the play of Pietrangelo and Steen for making those small plays that win tight playoff games. There was one stretch when the Stars were threatening, Steen blocked a shot and calmly skated the puck out of the zone. He has done it so many times, it becomes the expected. He led the Blues with six blocked shots. It's clear the Stars are going to spend a lot of time in this series on offense, they're just that good and their speed gives the Blues trouble. But to have those two players maintaining poise in the biggest moments means these Blues have a good chance to withstand the constant offensive pressure. "Otherwise, we're really under siege there," Backes said. "Steener had a heck of a defensive game in that regard. We need to praise all those plays by all those guys who really helped win the game." According to war-on-ice.com, Steen played 9:58 at even strength against Jamie Benn, and during that stretch the Stars and Blues had an equal amount of shot attempts. Pietrangelo played 10:30 of even-strength ice time against Benn and the Blues controlled 69 percent of the shot attempts. Benn got a goal, but it came when Pietrangelo was on the bench. With the series shifting to St. Louis, it will allow Hitchcock to get his two subtle stars in Steen and Pietrangelo even better matchups. The first two games in Dallas showed that the Stars are going to get their opportunities. They're just too talented not to. But the more the Blues can reflect the poise of their big alternate captain on defense, the better chance they have of withstanding the speed and offensive onslaught coming from the Stars. "It's huge for us when he stick-handles through a phone booth and he's in the clear," Elliott said. "He's the type of guy who is always on the move whether on or off the ice. You can't stop him."
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