Blues Vs. Stars Final Score: Blues End Season With A 3-2 Win Over Dallas

Tonight was the thing that the Blues needed to get into the playoffs with a bit of momentum. Their 3-2 win against the Dallas Stars to close out the season saw the Blues finish with the second fewest goals allowed all time, and with the second best record in franchise history.

The Blues pulled ahead by two on a goal by Alexander Steen, scored on a powerplay graciously given to St. Louis by Loui Eriksson. The potential future Lady Byng winner made a rare mistake, and his team paid the price:

It was debatable as to whether or not this was David Perron or Alex Steen, but the goal’s credit was later changed to Steen’s.

Ryan Garbutt, who earlier got into a little bit of a scrap with Barret Jackman, brought the Stars back up within one with his wrister past Jaroslav Halak:

David Perron would have nothing of that, wristing his own shot over the blocker side of Richard Bachman.

That was Perron’s 21st goal during his abbreviated 57 game season, and seemed enough to get the Blues safely to the last horn. This wouldn’t be a Blues game without a little bit of dramatics, and the Blues let Phillip Larsen squeak one past Halak with just over three minutes to go in the game.

Luckily the Blues were able to hold on, concluding one of the best seasons in franchise history. Their first round opponent is unknown as of this writing, as with a Vancouver loss they have the chance to finish first in the Western Conference, and the seventh and eighth seeds won’t be set until the L.A. Kings and San Jose Sharks finish their game.

Check back in the morning to SB Nation St. Louis for a first round preview, and later tomorrow for the schedule for the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Blues Vs. Stars Second Period Score: Kris Russell's Flukey Goal Puts Blues Up 1-0

The game so far through two periods hasn’t been the most exciting hockey played, but it’s gotten the Blues a 1-0 lead; excitement doesn’t count for points, goals do. Kris Russell netted his sixth goal of the season on this rather, interesting, shall we say, bounce:

Jamie Langenbrunner and Chris Stewart were credited with the assists on Russell’s goal. It was Stewart’s 15th assist of the season and 30th point; far ess than what many pundits predicted he was going to be capable of this season.

The Blues are up on shots on goal 24-20, with 15 shots in the second period to Dallas’ 12.

One more period and the Blues manage to finish the season on an up note before the playoffs.

Blues Vs. Stars First Period Score: Tied 0-0, Dallas Looks Like They're Ready For The Year To Be Over

The Dallas Stars started Richard Bachman tonight, almost a metaphorical white flag on the season. Bachman’s an excellent backup goaltender, but he’s the backup. There’s no reason for Dallas to start Kari Lehtonen, or for the guys on the ice to really try. Regulars Steve Ott, Mark Fistric, and Stefan Robidas are scratches. These kind of games are dangerous for teams heading into the playoffs like St. Louis, because you can be lulled into a sense of complacency. Hopefully the Blues, who have been complacent enough through the last four games, won’t let that trend continue tonight — a five game losing streak is no way to head into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Blues are leading the stars in shots 9-8, which is impressive since the Blues have given the Stars four powerplays so far this game to the Blues one. The team looks tighter than they did last night, but they still have two periods to prove that they’re in tight enough shape to win.

Blues At Stars: Regular Season Concludes For The NHL

The Dallas Stars are out of the playoffs with nothing left to play for, wheras there's still a small chance they can finish on top of the Western Conference. As terribly as they've played recently, do they really deserve it?