DALLAS – As they entered the final three games of the 2022-23 season, the Blues talked about being spoilers for Minnesota and Dallas as those teams battled for the Central Division title with Colorado.
Well, it didn’t happen Saturday in the Land of (all those lakes). The Blues yielded two shorthanded goals in a span of 20 seconds in the first period of a 5-3 loss.
Ditto for Wednesday in St. Louis, when the Blues yielded not one, not two, but three power play goals in a 5-2 loss to the Stars.
On Thursday came the Stars-Blues rematch in the season finale for both teams at American Airlines Center. With the Stars clinging to a one-point lead over Colorado entering the night, the Blues kept the Stars off the scoreboard for two periods. Trouble was, St. Louis didn’t score either in periods Nos. 1 and 2.
OK, it wasn’t the most thrilling brand of hockey. But at least the defenses showed up for both teams.
Making his 60th start of the season, Jordan Binnington was razor sharp. But Dallas finally broke through at the 3:45 mark of the third period. On a 2-on-1 rush, Evgenii Dadonov clanged a shot off the post. It went right over to Wyatt Johnston, who connected on the rebound to give Dallas a 1-0 lead. And that's the way it ended - a 1-0 loss to the Stars.
So after being shut out for only the third time all season, the Blues finished the 37-38-7 and have missed the playoffs for only the 10th time in franchise history.
Johnston, a 19-year-old native of Toronto, seemingly scored about a dozen goals against the Blues prospects in the Traverse City tournament. He’s doing the same so far in the National Hockey League – he also scored twice against the Blues on Wednesday and has four goals against St. Louis in this, his rookie season.
Different start
Defense and checking were more in fashion in the first period Thursday than was the case Wednesday at Enterprise Center.
It was 2-2 after one Wednesday, with the Blues being outshot 14-6. Thursday in Dallas it was scoreless after one, with the Stars leading in shots by a modest 12-9.
That’s not to say that Dallas didn’t come out strong. The shots were 5-0 Stars 4 ½ minutes in, and that included a 2-minute St. Louis power play. But the Blues gradually got their legs under them and – surprise! – even killed off a slashing penalty by Jake Neighbours without allowing a Dallas shot on goal.
Another scoreless period
As the second period progressed, Dallas started amping up the pressure. They outshot the Blues 10-4 in the period, but Binnington was equal to the challenge and the game remained scoreless after two. Binnington got some help in the second when with a couple of Stars players poking around the Blues crease, the puck got behind Binnington. But Justin Faulk came in from behind to swat the puck out of danger.
