- Monday’s only game seemed destined to go to overtime ... until it wasn’t. Patrick Maroon instead scored a somewhat divisive clinching goal to push the Blues over the top.
Blues 4, Stars 3 (St. Louis leads 2-1; Game 4 airs on Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, stream here).
For most of Monday’s contest, it felt like every scoring chance would really count, because both teams weren’t giving an inch. Things really escalated in the third period, however, when the two teams combined for three goals in last than three minutes, and Dallas seemed like it just wouldn’t go away, negating three one-goal leads for the Blues. St. Louis showed resiliency of its own, however, and eventually allowed Maroon’s late 4-3 goal to stand as the game-winner, even after the Stars received a late power-play opportunity.
It sure seems like this will be a very close Round 2 series until the very end.
[NBC 2019 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF HUB]
Three Stars
1. Jaden Schwartz: The Blues winger has scored at least one goal in four of his last five playoff games, collecting six goals and one assist during that span. Schwartz scored a deft deflection tally early in Game 3 to stun the Stars a little bit to earn a 1-0 lead, while he also managed a secondary assist during that third-period spree.
Schwartz’s health struggles have been frustrating to watch in recent years, so it’s heartening to see the sneaky-good winger get his due, and come up in clutch situations.
With Vladimir Tarasenko seeming to be feast-or-famine lately, players like Schwartz need to step up, and he often has.
2. Patrick Maroon: You could make an argument for Jay Bouwmeester and his two primary assists, but Bouwmeester was on the wrong end of the shot share ledger to a considerable degree, and also took two minor penalties.
Maroon didn’t get as many points, but his goal was the game-winner, and it was a brawny effort in overpowering Esa Lindell before muscling the puck past Ben Bishop. In a way, that goal was a reward for Maroon’s hard work, as he thrived where Bouwmeester failed, possession-stats wise.
After a tough 2018-19 regular season for Maroon, he’s providing useful support for St. Louis, and his grit has been appreciated so far in the postseason.
3. Jordan Binnington: Both Binnington and Ben Bishop have had better nights stats-wise ... and have enjoyed a ton of great nights in general, lately. You’re not going to win an argument that either goalie was at their absolute peak in Game 3. (Honestly, if Bishop is OK health-wise, that’s a win for Dallas.)
Despite allowing seven goals between them, each netminder had some fantastic moments, turning away breakaway opportunities and other high-danger scoring chances. For the most part, it was difficult to blame the netminders for that deluge of goals during the third period.
Binnington grabbed the win, stopping 28 out of 31 shots on goal. After a sensational regular season call-up that saved the Blues’ bacon, Binnington’s very much living up to the hype so far as the games matter the most, and he’s holding up quite well to facing Bishop, one of the hottest goalies in the NHL.
Not a bad way to celebrate that Calder Trophy nomination, eh?
Highlight of the Night: Enjoy all of the highlights from Game 3 in the video above this post’s headline, but let me direct your attention to the 3-3 goal, in particular. Miro Heiskanen sent an absolute luscious pass to Tyler Seguin, who punched it past Binnington as the Stars seemed relentless. They relented enough to lose, but it was one of those instances where the goofy “didn’t lose, just ran out of time” mantra actually felt fitting.
Heiskanen’s only strengthening the argument that he should have been a Calder finalist with his play lately, even though the playoffs don’t count in such assessments.
Oh look, a tied game again!
— NBC Sports Hockey (@NBCSportsHockey) April 30, 2019
Things are heating up in #STLvsDAL. Watch here: https://t.co/TUZYHseSQE pic.twitter.com/9PFYRFsmRF
Factoids
- Elaborate pull from the NHL here: Binnington tied Frederik Andersen as the fastest start to 30 wins, hitting that mark in 39 games (between the playoffs and regular season).
- The Blues have won four consecutive road playoff games, matching the franchise record set back when they were founded in 1967.
- Schwartz’s six goals in his last five playoff games falls just behind the likes of Brett Hull and Joe Mullen.
Tuesday’s games
Game 3: Boston Bruins at Columbus Blue Jackets, 7 p.m. ET (Series tied 1-1) (NBCSN; Live stream)
Game 3: San Jose Sharks at Colorado Avalanche, 10 p.m. ET (Series tied 1-1) ( NBCSN; live stream)
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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.