Blues vs. Stars: Game 7 Score and Twitter Reaction from 2016 NHL Playoffs

Anchored by the line of Paul Stastny, Robby Fabbri and Troy Brouwer, who recorded a combined nine points, the St. Louis Blues dominated the Dallas Stars in Game 7 of the teams' Western Conference second-round matchup at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Wednesday night, winning 6-1.  

The Blues will meet the winner of Thursday's game between the Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks in their first Western Conference Final since 2001. 

While goaltender Brian Elliott's mishaps in net for St. Louis headlined Game 6, Game 7 saw Kari Lehtonen allow three goals on eight shots in the first period, putting Dallas in a big hole early.

The Blues got on the board first when the 20-year-old Fabbri pounded home a rebound on the power play five-and-a-half minutes into the game, via the NHL:

It was his third goal and his 11th point of the postseason, which tied Doug Gilmour's 1984 mark for third-most points by a rookie in team history. He would move past him later in the game.

Fabbri dispelled any notion for CBS Sports 920 AM's Frank Cusumano that the moment would be too big for him:

The Stars had a golden opportunity to tie the game less than five minutes later, when pretty puck movement left Valeri Nichushkin wide-open with a gaping net. But the winger missed the target and hit the outside of the net. 

ESPN The Magazine's Craig Custance knew he wouldn't have a better opportunity to score:

It was a chance the Stars would rue as the period progressed.

Vladimir Tarasenko looked like he put the Blues up 2-0 with 2:21 left in the period from a tough angle that took a deflection off a defender, but the goal was overturned after he was offside entering the zone, which was inexcusable to Sportsnet's Mark Spector:

Forty-three seconds later, though, the Blues would find a second goal when Stastny squeaked a shot through Lehtonen off his skate and into the net, via the NHL:

The Stars' slow start surprised former referee Kerry Fraser:

Instead of regrouping, Lehtonen let in a third goal with just three seconds left in the period off a soft wrister from Patrik Berglund, via the NHL:

It was the third goal he allowed in as many shots and the second one that counted. Former player Matthew Barnaby noticed Lehtonen was slumping back to his usual form after his big Game 6 performance:

Lehtonen was pulled for Antti Niemi during the first intermission, and the replacement didn't experience much better luck upon his arrival. 

Less than four minutes into the second period, David Backes made it 4-0 when he came down the right wing and unleashed a powerful wrist shot that beat Niemi blocker side, rang off the post and went in on just the second shot he faced, via the NHL:

Kelen Capener from the band The Story So Far knew the Stars were unprepared in goal for this Game 7:

A comfortable lead didn't mean that Elliott, who allowed three goals on seven shots in Game 6, was bored, as he made the save of the night, via the NHL:

He made 31 saves on 32 shots as he firmly put Game 6 in the rearview mirror. 

Things got even worse for Dallas with under five minutes to go in the second when Troy Brouwer, who was a part of the deal that sent T.J. Oshie to the Washington Capitals, received a great pass from Fabbri to easily beat Niemi, via the NHL:

The passing move that began with a solid entrance into the zone by Stastny left KSDK's Dan Buffa in awe:

Brouwer has been invaluable to St. Louis' playoff run. He became just the second player in franchise history to score goals in two separate Game 7s during the same postseason, and he scored the game-winner in Game 7 of the first round against the defending Stanley Cup-champion Chicago Blackhawks.

Dallas finally got on the board with 14:45 left in the game when a slap shot by Alex Goligoski deflected off of St. Louis' Joel Edmundson right to the stick of Patrick Eaves, who was wide-open to the left of Elliott's goal and able to finish. 

It gave slim but fictional hope to Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times:

The Stars continued to exert consistent pressure, and they pulled Niemi for an extra attacker with six minutes left in the game. Elliott would not be beaten, but Tarasenko would get his goal on an empty-netter with 4:40 to go. 

Now the Blues are just four wins away from their first Stanley Cup Final appearance since 1970, which is a series ingrained in the minds of all hockey fans. That's the series that ended with Boston Bruins legend Bobby Orr flying through the air after his Cup-winning goal. 

That was St. Louis' third Stanley Cup appearance in as many years—also the first three years of the Blues' existence—though it was unable to win one. 

But for a team that's exorcised its demons in the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round while winning a Game 7 on the road in the second, the Blues are hitting all the right notes heading into the Western Conference Final.

Postgame Reaction

Seventeen years ago, Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock led the Stars to their only Stanley Cup championship in franchise history. 

On Wednesday, he knocked them out of the postseason, but he knows they will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come, via Pat Doney of NBC Dallas-Fort Worth:

While this is just another notch in what should be a Hall of Fame belt, Hitchcock was most pleased for the longest-tenured players, via the Blues:

His decision to stick with Elliott in goal paid off, as the St. Louis goalie was stellar in helping the Blues pick up their third road win of the series. 

He spoke with the media after the game, via the Blues:

Brouwer, who was a part of St. Louis' leading line in getting plenty of support for Elliott, didn't want to see anyone else in goal, via Lou Korac of NHL.com:

The Blues have gotten through one of the toughest divisions in hockey—the Central—with the likes of the Blackhawks and have now taken care of the Western Conference's No. 1 seed. That means their next opponent, whether it's the Sharks or Predators, will be their first to have recorded under 100 points this season since April 4.