Dallas @ St. Louis preview

Last Meeting ( Apr 25, 2019 ) Dallas 2, St. Louis 3

The Dallas Stars handed St. Louis a pair of three-goal losses during the regular season, but the playoffs are a different animal and the Blues have thrived under the glare of postseason pressure. After posting its fifth one-goal victory of the playoffs, St. Louis looks to hold serve in Saturday afternoon's Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinal series versus visiting Dallas.

Forward Vladimir Tarasenko scored twice and the Blues held on for a 3-2 victory to improve to 10-3 in their last 13 one-goal games in the postseason. "I don't want to talk about this," Tarasenko told reporters after his team's third consecutive 3-2 win. "I don't think it's right to talk about your moments in the game. It's just Game 1 and we have a win - it's the most exciting thing." Dallas, which won three in a row to bounce No. 2 seed and Central Division champion Nashville in six games in the first round, also was not putting too much stock into one game. "It's going to be tight-checking. It's going to be momentum swings back and forth," Stars forward Jason Spezza told reporters. "We did a lot of positive things. I think we have another level to go to. ... There was some stuff to build off for sure."

TV: 3 p.m. ET, NBC, TVA, Sportsnet

ABOUT THE STARS: Captain Jamie Benn gave Dallas hope with a late goal in the third period - his sixth tally against St. Louis this season - but the Stars were playing catch-up after Vezina Trophy finalist Ben Bishop allowed a soft opening goal by Robby Fabbri. "It's going to be a chess match for the whole series. We had our pushes, they had theirs," Benn told reporters. "There are going to be momentum swings throughout the game, they got the first one. It's going to go back and forth throughout the series." Dallas' penalty kill was dented for the first time in the postseason after killing off all 15 power plays in the series versus Nashville.

ABOUT THE BLUES: While Tarasenko did not want to talk about his exploits, his teammates had plenty to say after the Russian standout converted on the power play before delivering what proved to be the game-winner with a power move down the right wing. "It's amazing how he can make something out of nothing," Blues center Ryan O'Reilly told reporters. "That's just him. He's just one of the few people in the game that can turn it on and make those amazing plays." Rookie netminder Jordan Binnington, who did not make his NHL start until Jan. 7, made 27 saves to record his 29th victory - the most among any NHL goaltender in the 2019 calendar year.

OVERTIME

1. Tarasenko has 26 goals in 51 career playoff games.

2. Stars D John Klingberg collected an assist in Game 1 to tie Benn for the team lead with seven points in the playoffs.

3. Blues D Alex Pietrangelo notched his team-high seventh point of the postseason with an assist Thursday.

PREDICTION: Stars 3, Blues 2