Blues open second round on the road vs. Dallas

FRISCO, Texas -- Blues coach Ken Hitchcock will be facing some history close to home when the Dallas Stars host St. Louis in Game 1 of their playoff series tonight.

The Stars are hosting a second-round opener for the first time since 2003, a year after Hitchcock was fired during a season in which they missed the playoffs.

"Yeah, it's a full about-face. I like where our team is at, I like where our team has got to and I'm sure he's sitting in the same place," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. "It's not about him or I. It's about how the teams are going to play."

Dallas survived a frenzied finish for a 5-4 win in its Game 6 clincher at Minnesota after taking a 4-0 lead into the third period Sunday. The Blues are in the second round for the first time in four seasons after a seven-game thriller against the Chicago Blackhawks, the defending Stanley Cup champion.

"Just think what this team is capable of," Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said. "Whether it was Chicago or anybody else, I think we showed a lot of resilience out there in that series."

Some things to watch in what the Stars expect to be a physical series against the bigger Blues:

St. Louis dominates

St. Louis won four of the five regular-season matchups, though two of the victories were in overtime and a third came in a shootout. Each team also posted a 3-0 victory.

Goalie watch

Dallas and St. Louis both routinely used two goalies in the regular season, and all four goalies won at least 23 games. The Stars have kept that pattern in the postseason, switching goalies after both first-round losses. But the Blues have gone exclusively with Brian Elliott, who had at least 30 saves in six games against Chicago.

The Stars' Kari Lehtonen had a 2.27 goals-against average and .911 save percentage in four games against the Wild; Antti Niemi had a 3.36 GAA and .877 save percentage in two games.

Former Star

Left wing Steve Ott, in his third season with the Blues, played 566 of his 795 career regular-season games and 34 of his 51 playoff games while with Dallas for 10 years (2002-12).

"I have friends over there," Ott said. "It's no hidden message, but there's no friends when the playoff series starts, and I would expect the same thing from them."

Injuries

Dallas All-Star center Tyler Seguin still isn't skating after missing the last 10 regular-season games and playing only Game 2 against Minnesota. Seguin had his left Achilles tendon cut by a skate March 17, and apparently suffered a different but related lower-body injury when getting back in a game after missing a month.

Stars to watch

Jamie Benn, the Stars captain and their other All-Star center, led all NHL players with 10 points (four goals, six assists) in the first round of the playoffs. Jason Spezza, another Stars center, was second with nine points (four goals, five assists). Left wing Jaden Schwartz led the Blues with seven points (three goals, four assists). St. Louis star forward Vladimir Tarasenko will be closely watched after his ice time was down against Chicago; he appeared to confront Hitchcock at one point, though the coach shrugged it off and said simply that Tarasenko plays a demanding game.