from Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch,

The Blues can practically taste the Western Conference finals, but they know how quickly a series can turn. They almost learned that lesson the hard way when they struggled to close out the Blackhawks after taking a 3-1 lead in that opening-round series.

A 3-2 lead isn’t quite as commanding as 3-1, obviously. Hitchcock knows as much. Elliott knows as much. Vladimir Tarasenko knows as much and so on. The Stars also know that they’re one victory away from regaining home-ice advantage and forcing a winner-take-all Game 7 at their house.

“We had a gutsy effort in Game 4,” Benn said. “And we’re going to need more desperation next game.”

With everything to lose, the Stars are definitely going to be a desperate team in Game 6.

The opening round served as a perfect tune-up for what awaits the Blues in Game 6. One more victory and they’re headed to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2001. It’s been 15 years since the Blues were in the conference finals, and you have to like their chances in Game 6 with Elliott in goal. They don’t have to be tight because it’s not a must-win game for them. They must play loose yet hungry.

“It’s always tough to win in the opposing building,” defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk said. “I know we’ve done well on the road, but we set ourselves up well to go home and win a game. If we can do more of the same like we did (in Game 5), I think we’ll be on the right side of things after Game 6.”

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