Jason Spezza is feeling good. And you can't blame him.
The Dallas Stars, with home-ice advantage in the playoffs thanks to a dominant regular season, opened their second-round series against the St. Louis Blues with a 2-1 win, and they looked good doing it.
The Blues, coming off an emotional seven-game series win over the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks, looked a bit sluggish. And the Stars took advantage. Dallas outshot St. Louis 14-6 in the first period, and had a 31-17 advantage after two periods. The Blues woke up in the third, but you can't win a playoff game with 20 solid minutes.
"We've got somethin' going here," Spezza said after the game, according to Sportsnet's Mark Spector.
He's right. The Stars look good. They've been slept on, despite their regular season, because of their propensity to allow goals, but they're playing solid hockey. They're still allowing a few too many goals - the Minnesota Wild scored five twice in the first round and four in Game 6 - but a one-goal win will do a lot for a team's confidence.
Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen was good Friday night, stopping 31 of 32 shots. More games like that, and the Stars could be off to the Western Conference finals.
