NHL Playoff Schedule 2016: Game Time, TV Info and Preview for Wednesday

The St. Louis Blues let an opportunity slip through their grasp Monday when a poor start at home allowed the Dallas Stars to jump out to a 3-0 lead.

While the Blues found their skating legs in the second period and turned it on in the third, all they could do was get close as the Stars held on for a 3-2 victory in Game 6.

That win squared the series at 3-3, and the Stars will host Game 7 Wednesday night. As long as the Blues start the game on time—something they didn't do Monday night—playing Game 7 on the road should not bother them.

The Blues have won two of the three games played in Dallas, and they also showed they could handle seventh-game pressure when they knocked out the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks in a winner-take-all game in the first round.

Matchup	Series Standing	Time (ET)	TV	Prediction
St. Louis Blues at Dallas Stars	3-3	8 p.m.	NBCSN, TVAS, SN	St. Louis

St. Louis head coach Ken Hitchcock told NHL.com's Amalie Benjamin that he is expecting his team to be ready to come out with its best game.

"It's a very proud group," Hitchcock said. "It's a group that's been resilient all year. It was built through adversity, a really proud group. I would be awful shocked if you didn't get our A-game tomorrow and our best game. If it's not good enough, it's not good enough."

While Hitchcock is sure his team will have its compete level turned up to the max, he did not reveal who would be in net. St. Louis hooked Brian Elliott, who has been stellar throughout the majority of the playoffs, out of the net in Game 6 after giving up three first-period goals. Jake Allen replaced him, and that coincided with a decided upturn in the Blues' play.

"I'll let you know tomorrow," Hitchcock said before his team boarded a plane for Dallas, per NHL.com's Louie Korac.  

Categories	St. Louis	Dallas
Goals For per Game	2.92	2.83
Goals Against per Game	2.54	3.00
Power Play	26.3 percent	16.7 percent
Penalty Kill	77.8 percent	75.0 percent

While Hitchcock was keeping the likely starter's name to himself, Blues captain David Backes and defenseman Alex Pietrangelo both told Korac that they would be surprised if Elliott was not the starting goalie in Game 7.

The Stars have home ice, but defenseman Johnny Oduya said the teams are so even that the outcome is likely to come down to one goal.

"It's one deciding game," Oduya told Benjamin. "It's so even. I think we're going to see a tight-played game, probably one goal that decides it. I'm not going to say it's a lottery because I don't think it is, but it's so even and you look throughout the year and you end up in a situation like this, where it can be one bounce that decides it."

Prediction

While Elliott and the Blues got off to a poor start in Game 6 and that cost them a chance to win the series at home, they have been a more consistent and better defensive team than the Stars throughout the series.

Look for Elliott to get the start and revert to his best form. Also look for Vladimir Tarasenko, Jaden Schwartz and Troy Brouwer to come through with goals and key plays.

LM Otero/Associated Press

Kari Lehtonen appears vulnerable for the Stars in goal, and while Jamie Benn and Jason Spezza are capable of trading goals with anyone, the Stars will come up short. The Blues will advance to the Western Conference Final.