NHL playoff scores 2016: Picking up the pieces of the Stars’ Game 7 goaltending collapse

Goaltending was always going to be the worry for the Dallas Stars in these playoffs. Unfortunately for them, their Achilles' heel showed itself at the worst possible time — in a Game 7.

It's quite a miracle the Stars survived as long as they did with the goaltending they've had. When both netminders are sporting a regular season save percentage of just over .900, the rest of the team had to be pretty special to carry them halfway to a Stanley Cup.

And they are! Despite missing their second-best scorer in Tyler Seguin through the entire postseason, the Stars pack some heavy firepower on offense with Jamie Benn, Patrick Sharp and Jason Spezza. Dallas thrived on being able to out-punch their opponents, even if they gave up four or five goals in the process. That type of play makes for great hockey to watch, but it's a lot harder to get away with in the playoffs.

It is a shame that the first run of the Stars' unique brand of offensive-minded hockey -- a fast, relentless style that gave them the highest goals-per-game average in the NHL this season -- was a failure. In a league that wants more goal scoring overall, we should be rooting for what Lindy Ruff and the Stars are building down there in Dallas.

However, the failure looks to be a necessary one for the Stars to ultimately become a better team. It's clear that the Stars' risk-taking style of play needs better goaltenders than Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi to work. The 32-year-old netminders are locked up for another two seasons -- and more incredulously they take up almost 15 percent of the Stars' cap space. An offseason buyout is likely coming, but just too little too late to save their season.

Blues 6, Stars 1

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1. Troy Brouwer continues to be Game 7 magic

Not only was this Brouwer's eighth consecutive Game 7, the Blues forward was a huge part of the win. Three points in his 16 minutes of ice time was huge, but it's not the first Game 7 in these playoffs Brouwer has made an impact. Remember Game 7 vs. the Blackhawks? Yeah, that was Brouwer that scored the game winner for the Blues there. Move over Justin Williams, there's a new Mr. Game 7 in town.

2. Dallas took a lot of shots, and had even more blocked

An underrated element to the Blues' Game 7 win has to be the amount of shots they blocked. Sure, they gave up 32 shots -- and only one got by Brian Elliott -- but they blocked 34 in the game.

Final: 87-38, 66-30 at 5v5. See you next season, Stars. #STLvsDAL https://t.co/85pCDNo6J2 pic.twitter.com/Q3B4b41vGS

— hockeystats.ca (@HockeyStatsCa) May 12, 2016

Shot blocking wins Game 7s?

3. The Stars penalty kill got roasted by NBC

When your PK is so bad, it's not even worth ranking it by number... #STLvsDAL pic.twitter.com/jPLpdii0YN

— AJ Strong (@aj_strong) May 12, 2016

Talk about adding insult to injury, as the Blues scored their opening goal on that power play.

The game was all but lost when Lehtonen allowed the backbreaking 3-0 goal with under five seconds to go in the first period. What went from a manageable deficit became a hole the Stars were never able to climb themselves out of, and it got Lehtonen yanked in the process.

Remember Tony, AKA @soloucity on Twitter, who fell in love with hockey during the Blues/Blackhawks Game 7? We're dedicating a section in our recaps to the gems of his Twitter account during the playoffs.

only thing yall talk about are hotdogs and which lead is the most dangerous lmao

— Tony X. (@soIoucity) May 12, 2016

He's on to us!

This is the first time the #Blues inaugural season, 1967-68, that STL has won multiple Game 7s in a postseason.#GlennHall

— Mark Spector (@SportsnetSpec) May 12, 2016