The Blues handily defeated the Stars in Game 7. In fact, it was hard to see how Dallas even got to game 7 throughout much of this game. If not for Kari Lehtonen stepping up, the Stars would have been done last game, and that’s a fact, Jack.

The Stars offense was their lone light in the dark throughout much of this season. Much has been made about how Dallas didn’t have a defense in the regular season, and that has been done for a reason – they really truly lacked a defense. Jim Nill tried to assemble a defense at the deadline, but the addition of Kris Russell didn’t prove to be enough for the Stars, as they were outplayed at every aspect in Game 7, including defense, and offense.

The question the Stars have to ask is how important Tyler Seguin is to this team. Did missing a true first line center drop them out of the playoffs? No, that was the fact that no offensive player played dominantly, and there were very few consistent scorers. The guys they trust the most, their big names, were not around. Jason Spezza, Jamie Benn, Patrick Sharp, John Klingberg, Ales Hemsky, Cody Eakin – none of them scored more than 2 goals. Radek Faksa was the best player for the Stars this post-season. Nobody thought that would happen and that kid deserves whatever money he can get.

But shutting down big names is what the Blues did best. They did it against the Blackhawks – the only ever present forward in their series was Andrew Shaw – and they did it against the Stars. It will be harder for them to keep doing it as the playoffs move forward – the Sharks are the deepest at center they will have faced, and the Penguins and Lightning both have more experience, better defenses, and capable stars.

Despite the goalie “controversy” coming into this game, Brian Elliott stepped up big, only allowing one goal. I think we know who the Blues will be rolling with in the next series.