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SPORTS Wednesday 24 april 2019

Turnabout for Stars, Blues complete with 2nd-round showdown

By SCHUYLER DIXON tonight.” The last rookie group, especially when it’s
AP Sports Writer coach to win his first playoff your first time together. And
DALLAS (AP) — When first- series was Dale Hunter with we have. And the trust has
year Dallas Stars coach Jim Washington seven years grown.”
Montgomery called out his ago. And Montgomery is Ben Bishop, a Vezina Tro-
team over a “culture of the second Stars coach to phy finalist who had a play-
mediocrity” in January, the do it, following Dave Tip- off career-high 47 saves to
St. Louis Blues weren’t too pett in 2003. finish off the Predators, will
far removed from having An NCAA championship be facing his hometown
the worst record in the NHL. winner at the University team, and the one that
Now the Central Division of Denver two years ago, drafted him 14 years ago.
rivals will meet in the sec- Montgomery was also the “I’ve been trying not to
ond round of the play- third coach in three sea- think about it, obviously try-
offs — and Montgomery is sons for the Stars. He fol- ing to worry about this se-
ready to move on from his lowed Lindy Ruff and Ken ries,” Bishop said. “It kind of
scathing critique, while de- Hitchcock, who returned gets a smile.”
claring that the culture has Dallas Stars’ Esa Lindell (23), Alexander Radulov (47) and Tyler to Dallas and missed the The Blues and Stars were
changed. Seguin (91) celebrate with John Klingberg, center, who scored 2018 playoffs, 19 years after the lower seeds in their first-
“If you’re in that locker in overtime against the Nashville Predators in Game 6 of an NHL leading the franchise to its round matchups. St. Louis
room, you see the culture hockey first-round playoff series in Dallas, Monday, April 22, only Stanley Cup title. beat Winnipeg, also in six
now,” Montgomery after 2019. The Stars won 2-1 in overtime. “I think the journey through games. If Vegas wins Game
the Stars beat Nashville 2-1 Associated Press the year toughens you up, 7 at San Jose in the remain-
in overtime in Game 6 on said Tyler Seguin, the high- “Guys came out of their hopefully,” Montgomery ing first-round Western
Monday to finish off the scoring forward who was comfort zones and that’s said. “And it definitely did Conference series Tuesday
first-round series. “You see injured when the Blues and made us a closer team for us. You have to face night, all four lower seeds
how much more profes- Stars met three years ago. and that’s why we’re here adversity to get better as a will have advanced.q
sional we are. We work effi-
ciently. We work effective-
ly. And we work together.
“We’re going to be eight of
31 teams left, right? We’re
doing something right. But
we hope not to be done.
But we know we’re facing
a really good team next,
again.”
The Blues went from having
a league-worst 34 points
on Jan. 2 to becoming the
first team that was last in
the NHL at the beginning
of the calendar year to ad-
vance in the postseason.
Montgomery’s blunt assess-
ment came after a 3-1 loss
to St. Louis when the Blues
were beginning to dig out
of their hole. The Dallas
turnaround started a week
later with the beginning of
a five-game winning streak
that bridged the All-Star
break.
A year after collapsing
late in the regular season
with an eight-game losing
streak that started with six
straight losses on the road,
the Stars picked up seven
of eight possible points on
a four-game Canadian
swing late in the season
to all but wrap up their first
playoff berth in three years.
That most recent playoff
trip in 2016 ended with a
Game 7 loss in the second
round to the Blues in Dallas.
“We had a lot of changes
this year and a lot of un-
comfortable conversa-
tions throughout the year,”