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Blues Outlast Stars in Epic Game 7 Double Overtime Win

Pat Maroon scored 5:50 into the second overtime, Jordan Binnington made 29 saves and the St. Louis Blues outlasted the Dallas Stars 2-1 in Game 7 of their Western Conference semifinal playoff series.

 

St. Louis will face the winner of the San Jose-Colorado series in the conference final.

 

Maroon slammed in a loose puck after Robert Thomas hit the goal post on a rush down the right wing. The puck then bounced off Dallas goalie Ben Bishop and dropped in the crease.

 

It was the second game-winning goal of the series for Maroon, who savored the moment in front of dozens of family and friends.

 

Binnington, a Calder Trophy finalist, improved to 8-5 in postseason play. He stopped Radek Faksa on a breakaway in the opening period and also made some key stops in the second extra period.

Vince Dunn also scored for St. Louis.

 

Bishop made 52 saves and Mats Zuccarello scored for Dallas, which dropped to 5-8 in Game 7s in franchise history.

 

It marked the first time in NHL history that three playoff series were decided in overtime in Game 7 in the same year. San Jose eliminated Vegas and Carolina beat Washington in the first round.

 

St. Louis, which improved to 9-8 in Game 7s, outshot Dallas 54-30, including 41-16 in regulation. But Bishop was terrific against his first NHL team, keeping the Stars in the game with a handful of big-time stops in regulation and the overtimes.

 

The Blues jumped in front when Dunn converted a shot from the point 13:30 into the first period. It was his first career playoff goal.

 

Zuccarello then jumped on a fortunate deflection for Dallas, tying it at 1 at 15:55. A clearing attempt by St. Louis forward David Perron hit referee Marc Joannette and bounced into the slot. Binnington was looking in the other direction and never saw Zuccarello's shot.

 

Bishop came into the contest with two shutouts in his only two Game 7 appearances, both with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

 

He made several key saves during a 34-minute stretch when the Blues outshot Dallas 27-2 from the start of the second period.

 

Bishop, a Veznia Trophy finalist, made 46 successive saves before Maroon's tally.

 

St. Louis plays either San Jose or Colorado in the Western Conference final, which will be decided with Game 7 on Wednesday.

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