St. Louis @ Dallas preview

Last Meeting ( Apr 29, 2019 ) St. Louis 4, Dallas 3

Despite owning the fewest points in the NHL at one point this season, the St. Louis Blues rallied to make the playoffs and now they are trying to navigate the postseason in an unconventional manner. Holding a 2-1 edge in their Western Conference semifinal, the Blues attempt to remain perfect away from home when they visit the Dallas Stars in Wednesday night's Game 4.

St. Louis won all three road matchups in its first-round, six-game win over Winnipeg and improved to 4-0 away from home by holding on for a 4-3 victory at Dallas on Monday night. "We're really confident on the road," Blues center Tyler Bozak said. "We've found ways to win late in games. When we get down or when teams tie it up, we don't really sit back. We kind of get back to our game and put it behind us." The Stars are in a familiar position, also losing Game 3 at home in the opening round before rattling off three straight victories to oust Nashville. "Guys that have been in this situation, you know the ups and downs," Dallas defenseman Ben Lovejoy said. "What we did in the first round is came out and played probably our best game of the playoffs in Game 4. We need that effort again."

TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, TVAS, Sportsnet

ABOUT THE BLUES: The No. 3 line was of Bozak, Patrick Maroon and Robert Thomas was the difference in Game 3, combining for four points as Bozak scored one goal and set up the deciding tally by Maroon with under two minutes to play. The goal ended a six-game point drought for Maroon, a St. Louis native who had 10 tallies and 28 points in his first season with the Blues. "He’s been great all playoffs. Set aside the whole St. Louis thing, he’s been great," captain Alex Pietrangelo said. "This time of year, those are the guys you really lean on. He’s really stepped up to the plate."

ABOUT THE STARS: Special teams are critical to postseason success and Dallas has held up its end in that area, scoring on the power play, converting on the penalty kill and snuffing out both man-advantage chances for St. Louis in Game 3. However, the Stars have been outscored 7-3 during 5-on-5 play in the series, including 4-1 in Monday's game. "I think we won the special teams battle. I liked our penalty kill, and I liked our power play," coach Jim Montgomery said. "But 5-on-5 is how you're going to win in the playoffs, and that's the area of the game that we need to improve upon."

OVERTIME

1. Blues F Jaden Schwartz scored 11 goals during the regular season but has a team-high six in the playoffs.

2. Stars F Alexander Radulov has points in all four home playoff games to tie for the team lead with seven.

3. Blues G Jordan Binnington tied a league record by notching his first 30 wins in only 39 games (playoffs included).

PREDICTION: Stars 3, Blues 2