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

If you struggled to recognize the Blues on Friday night, you’re not alone. Those may have been the same players who eliminated the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks in the opening round, but they definitely weren’t the same team.

They were slower, a tad behind most of the night and completely missing in the first two periods against the Dallas Stars. By the time it was over, they were fortunate to have lost Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals by a mere 2-1 margin at American Airlines Center.

The Blues hardly resembled the team that beat the Blackhawks in a thrilling, seven-game classic in the Western Conference quarterfinals.

“They outplayed us,” captain David Backes said. “They deserved to win this one. We got to regroup and find our game and play for a full 60 the way we did in the first series and we’ll be just fine.

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Watch the game highlights below...