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Dallas Stars Daily Links: Blues Blow Out Stars 6-1 to Take 2-1 Series Lead

Posted on by Melissa Flandreau

Things started off well enough for the Stars, with Colton Sceviour scoring off his own rebound just 4:44 into the first period. But then, Alexander Steen tied things up less than a minute later, and it was all downhill from there. Straight downhill. Mike Heika’s here to walk you through the biggest reason for the Stars’ 6-1 loss.

Still, at the heart of this team’s weakness is a group of defensemen that include five that are 200 pounds or lighter. Kris Russell is listed at 170, John Klingberg at 180, and Alex Goligoski at 185. That hasn’t prevented them from playing a great puck possession game in the playoffs, but the Blues went in hard with the forecheck in Game 3, and the defensemen ended up breaking.

Heika also acknowledges the troubles with goaltending and special teams, and wonders whether the defense’s struggles will prompt a change in the lineup for Game 4.

For his part, captain Jamie Benn says the Stars will just have to brush that one off.

“It’s never good when you lose like that,” said Stars captain Jamie Benn. “But it’s a seven-game series and in the playoffs, you have to have a short memory.”

There’s more on Game 3 at the link (although no one will blame you if you’d rather just start thinking about Thursday). [SportsDayDFW]

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Y’all know what to do.

Curtis McKenzie made his playoff debut for the Stars last night and talked about the opportunity before puck drop. Lindy Ruff also had this to say about changes to the lineup:

“These two teams are so darn close that you can’t wait for players to play well,” he said. “If Mac doesn’t play well, we’ll turn to the next alternative.

There’s more from McKenzie and Ruff at the link. [SportsDayDFW]

As much as it pains me to say nice things about Blues players, this is pretty cool: Rookie defenseman Colton Parayko is trying to win a Stanley Cup and earn his degree from the University of Alaska at the same time. [ESPN]

If last night’s loss made you miss Tyler Seguin more than ever, here’s what Lindy Ruff had to say yesterday about his (and Patrick Eaves‘) return.

Elsewhere, in the race for the Cup…

The NHL should put less emphasis on injury when looking at questionable hits, says Dan Steinberg. [The Washington Post]

The Penguins will be without Kris Letang tonight.

Which players do you want to see raise the Cup? (Besides the very obvious, I mean.) From Alex Ovechkin to Ales Hemsky, eight guys that Puck Daddy’s Ryan Lambert would like to see win it all. [Puck Daddy]

The Flames have fired Bob Hartley, and the Bruce Boudreau to Calgary speculation has already begun. [Matchsticks and Gasoline]

Here are your three NHL Foundation Player Award finalists:

The Leafs may have gotten the first overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, but they could still find a way to screw that up. [Sportsnet]

According to IIHF president Rene Fasel, there’s a 60 percent chance we won’t be seeing NHLers at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang. [The Hockey News]

Mitch Marner, a Maple Leafs prospect and the fourth overall pick in 2015, won the Red Tilson trophy as the OHL’s most outstanding player. [TSN]

And finally, the Benns talk about #NHL17Benn. (Go vote.)

Talking Points