Blues vs. Stars: 3 keys to Game 7

The St. Louis Blues and the Dallas Stars will play a win-or-go-home Game 7 on Tuesday night with a trip to the Western Conference Final on the line.

It's an unlikely tale of two teams that had seemingly lost their way just a few months ago. The Blues sat last in the NHL on Jan. 3, which came less than a week after the Stars' top talents in Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin were publicly ridiculed by team CEO Jim Lites.

Each team responded to its midseason adversity in a big way, but only one will overcome the odds this time around. The Stars last reached the Western Conference Final in 2008, while the Blues will be looking for history to repeat itself, as their last trip to the WCF came in a Game 7 victory over Dallas in 2016.

Here are three keys to Tuesday's Game 7:

Ben Bishop

Bishop will start Game 7 after a howitzer off the stick of Blues defenseman Colton Parayko caught the Stars netminder up high and forced him to exit Game 6.

The Stars should like their chances heading into Tuesday night. Not only is Bishop 2-0 in Game 7s, but he also hasn't allowed a goal on 53 combined shots in those contests.

And in this postseason, Bishop's resiliency has played a key role in the Stars' ability to bounce back. Each time the 32-year-old has allowed three or more goals - as he did in Game 6 - he's won the following game while conceding two goals or less.

Meanwhile, Blues rookie Jordan Binnington will be in the crease for his first-ever Game 7.

Depth performers

Though they've been effective, neither top line has taken control of this series. Benn hasn't found the twine since Game 1, while Blues star Ryan O'Reilly hasn't scored at all.

Instead, the Stars' leading scorers this round are veteran Jason Spezza and rookie Roope Hintz, who've tallied three goals apiece. Mats Zuccarello has yet to score in the series, but leads all players with seven assists.

Meanwhile, St. Louis has seen 10 different players find the goal column against Dallas, but Brayden Schenn, like O'Reilly, isn't one of them.

With both teams focused on shutting down the big guns, look for an unlikely hero to rise in Game 7.

Leading after two periods

It's tough to chase the game against both of these defensive-minded clubs, and the team that's led entering the third period has won every contest to date. In fact, neither team has lost when leading after two periods in these playoffs.

However, the Blues did play spoiler by erasing a pair of third-period deficits against the Winnipeg Jets in their opening-round series.

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