The Dallas Stars dropped Game 3 at home against the St. Louis Blues, and are now down 2-1 in the series. If that sounds familiar, it’s because the Stars were in the exact same scenario in Round 1 against the Nashville Predators. That might give fans a little reason to be optimistic heading forward:
“We were in the same position when we were playing Nashville,” said [John] Klingberg. “And like we said before, been through ups and downs through the whole year and that’s what we learn from. From adversity, you learn, and from tough scenarios in games, you learn too. I think just coming back a couple of times (in Game 3) is huge for us.”
Heading into tonight, the Stars will need to do #WhateverItTakes to take Game 4 and tie up the series. That includes refocusing themselves mentally:
“We have spoken a lot in this locker room about staying even keel,” said Stars defenseman Ben Lovejoy. “You win one playoff game, you feel like you can win the Stanley Cup, you can start planning your parade in your hometown. You lose one game, and it’s summertime. We have talked about being even keel, knowing that you need to come out and be ready for every game.
You can read more from Mark Stepneski here.
Stars Stories
Stars assistant coach Stu Barnes knows exactly what these players are going through, and he’s here to help guide the way:
Stars assistant coach Stu Barnes helping players understand pressure of the playoffs:https://t.co/ukxiIHZlnJ
— Mike Heika (@MikeHeika) April 30, 2019
After getting caught diving earlier in the game, did Esa Lindell sabotage any chance of drawing a penalty before the game-winning goal? [SportsDay DFW]
Justin Dowling may not be the most popular Dowling at the Omni, but at least he’s living out his NHL dream:
“They are like the most popular people in the hotel, we can’t get through the lobby. We get stopped every five feet.” https://t.co/AQvv1HPglR
— Sean Shapiro (@seanshapiro) May 1, 2019
Around the League
The Columbus Blue Jackets apparently got bored of going to overtime, so they decided to beat the Boston Bruins 2-1 in regulation instead. [The Cannon]
Meanwhile the Logan Couture scored a hat trick as the San Jose Sharks beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-2. [NHL]
Non-traditional market teams like Dallas typically don’t get a lot of media attention, but could these playoffs help change that?
These playoffs have shown the NHL needs to get teams outside the biggest markets into more Winter Classics and nationally televised games, @jtbourne writes: https://t.co/x4dMflCbOM
— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) April 30, 2019
The Pittsburgh Penguins didn’t win the Stanley Cup this year, which means it’s time for people to suggest they trade Evgeni Malkin:
Feed me. pic.twitter.com/Hwt1tyfdvw
— Adam Gretz (@AGretz) April 30, 2019
Elliotte Friedman tackles that subject and more in his Latest 31 Thoughts: [Sportsnet]
Finally, this is just wrong:
The CWHL is auctioning off all its trophies in an effort to raise funds to cover its debts. @hailey_salvian with the story: https://t.co/oYpRto5Beb
— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) April 30, 2019