Blues, Stars both treating Game 6 as do-or-die
ST. LOUIS — From the outside, it doesn't appear that the morning skate before a game can foretell much, especially in the playoffs. It's often most useful to see which goalie leaves the ice first, because that often indicates he will start.
But to hear the coaches of the St. Louis Blues and Dallas Stars tell it, the individual skates their teams took Monday ahead of Game 6 in the second-round playoff series was indicative of a whole lot more.
“Our zip at our pre-game skate was crisp, our execution was high, so we cut it off,” Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said. “I’d seen enough. In nine, 10 minutes, we’re done. That’s what you want to do — keep it brief, keep the execution at a high level and go play (tonight).”
“(They were) loose. A couple guys were humming Shania Twain songs,” Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. “It’s about being relaxed and being ready to play.”
If Monday’s contest is the end of the series, at least the two teams stayed true to themselves until the finish. The hard-charging and laser-focused Blues lead the series 3-2, with a chance on home ice to knock out the high-octane and laid-back Stars.
“We treat every game almost (like a Game 7), we treat it as an elimination game,” St. Louis blueliner Kevin Shattenkirk said. “It’s a game where we can move on after this and we have to approach it like that. It’s a do-or-die game, and I don’t think we want to go back to Dallas, we want to win it here and we’ve set ourselves up for that.”
St. Louis secured the advantage with a 4-1 win Saturday afternoon. While the score may look lopsided, the Stars didn't see it that way.
“You can crunch all the numbers you want from the previous game, but I would take that game again tonight,” Ruff said. “Give us those same opportunities, I would take every play in that game, I would do it again and give us a second chance at it again and I think we’d have a different result, or the chance at a different result. I wouldn’t change anything.”
St. Louis has carried over its stingy penalty kill from the regular season (85.1 percent, third in the league) and completely shut down the Stars' power play (fourth-best in the regular season). Dallas is 1-16 against St. Louis with the man advantage in this series.
It's reminiscent of the regular season when the Blues went 4-1-0 (three of the wins came after regulation). In their wins, the Blues stopped 14 of 15 Stars power plays. In the loss, the Stars converted on 2 of 3 power play opportunities.
“I think the real key has been the penalty kill in this series,” Shattenkirk said. “(The Stars) really feed off the power play and those power play points and we’ve been able to stifle them and knowing what that feels like as a skilled players, it’s tough to get your mojo going when that happens.”
Stars captain Jamie Benn, appears unfazed by the challenge of an elimination game.
“I think there’s another level for sure,” Benn said of his game. “When your life is on the line, you’re going to see a lot of desperation and (hopefully) it brings a lot out the best in a lot players, that’s what we’re looking for. I definitely want to be that player (who steps up). (But) I think everyone’s going to be involved and it’ll be high-intensity and we’ve got to go out there and enjoy it.”
It was that message that resonated from both dressing rooms and both bench bosses. It's just another game in the quest for a Stanley Cup.
“You just want your team to play their best; you don’t want to have a subpar effort,” said Hitchcock, whose Blues are looking to reach the conference final for the first time since 2001. “I don’t think you can have these attitudes where you’re going to win quick, because the other team gets to play too. I don’t want to have any regrets as this thing moves along to where we’re having subpar performances.
“Just play your best, and let’s count the score at the end.”
Kari Lehtonen (Stars) and Brian Elliott (Blues) are the projected starting goaltenders for Game 6.