Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.<doc-sep>St. Louis Blues player Patrick Maroon’s son had an emotional reaction to his father’s game-winning goal, which allowed the team to advance to the Western Conference final. Maroon, 31, a St. Louis native, lived his fantasy Tuesday night after he scored in the second overtime. It was his second game-winning goal of the series between the Blues and Dallas Stars. Two years ago when Maroon was playing with the Edmonton Oilers, the athlete broke down in an interview after he talked about his son, Anthony, being there to see him score a goal. When he became a free agent last summer, Maroon decided to play with the Blues on a one-year deal in order to be closer to his family, CBS Sports reported. DALLAS STARS’ BEN BISHOP, STRUCK IN COLLARBONE BY PUCK, ALLOWS CONTROVERSIAL GOAL AS GAME 7 LOOMS A viral video captured Anthony crying after seeing his father score the winning goal. Following the game, Maroon’s son joined him in the locker room to celebrate. Francesca Vangel, Maroon’s fiancée spoke to the St. Louis Dispatch following the game, calling the moment “unreal.” “I can't even remember what happened,” Vangel said. “All I know is that I was sitting with Anthony, Patrick's son, and he started sobbing. And then I started crying.” Anthony told reporters that he reacted to the goal after hearing the crowd scream. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “I heard everybody scream and Fran turned around,” he told reporters. “And she said: 'It’s your dad! '” Next, the Blues will play either the San Jose Sharks or the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference final. The Sharks and Avalanche will play a Game 7 of their own on Wednesday. The Associated Press contributed to this report.<doc-sep>Photo : Jeff Roberson ( AP ) The St. Louis Blues should have won Game 7 about four times over before regulation even ended, but finally, in double overtime, they got some reward for an absolutely dominant performance. While an instantly legendary showing from Stars goalie Ben Bishop almost allowed Dallas to survive, the Blues broke through after over an hour of scoreless hockey, winning 2-1 with Pat Maroon’s scrappy rebound goal at 5:50 of the second OT. Advertisement Both teams found the back of the net early to exit the first period tied at one-all. But b uoyed by the home crowd, the Blues played the second and third periods with their feet firmly on the Stars’ necks . On the whole, they outshot the Stars 54-30, but in those final 40 minutes of regulation, Ben Bishop may as well have been the only guy on the ice for Dallas. The Stars dusted themselves off and asserted themselves more in extra time, matching the Blues’ 13 overtime shots, but it was just barely not enough, and all you can blame is bad luck . Ninety seconds before Maroon’s goal ended it, Jamie Benn stole the puck and tried for a wraparound on Jordan Binnington. Benn didn’t even have to get it over the pad—the part near the Blues goalie’s skate was in the dang net!—but the captain hit the wrong spot, and that was all St. Louis needed to secure the victory . No matter what happened to end this game, the final result was destined to be cruelly inexplicable , but in this case, at least the team that thoroughly outplayed its opponents got to triumph. The Blues, who have never won a Stanley Cup in their five-decade history, advance to the Western Conference Finals, where they’ll play the winner of Sharks-Avs on Wednesday night.<doc-sep>Pat Maroon always imagined becoming a hometown hero. The 31-year-old St. Louis native got to live out that fantasy Tuesday night. Maroon scored 5:50 into the second overtime, Jordan Binnington made 29 saves, and the St. Louis Blues outlasted the Dallas Stars 2-1 in Game 7 of their Western Conference semifinal playoff series. St. Louis will face the winner of the San Jose-Colorado series in the conference finals. Maroon slammed in a loose puck after Robert Thomas' shot hit the right goalpost, bounced off Dallas goalie Ben Bishop and dropped in the crease. It was the second game-winning goal of the series for Maroon, who savored the moment in front of dozens of family and friends. 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs Miss a game from the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs? Want to experience a game again? Every playoff matchup is available for replay on ESPN+. Watch now » "As a kid, playing in a basement, on the street, you always think about doing this," Maroon said. "It's unreal. It means the world." Maroon deflected credit for the tally to Thomas, whose quick cut to the bottom of the circle following a faceoff win helped create the winner. "I saw an opening, and I shot it," Thomas said. "He was there to bang it in." Thomas, who also assisted on the Blues' first goal, is the third teenager in Stanley Cup playoff history with multiple points in a Game 7, joining Trevor Linden (1989) and Dan Quinn (1984). According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Maroon became the first player since 1979 to score a Game 7 overtime winner for his hometown team. Yvon Lambert, born in Drummondville, Quebec -- near Montreal -- did the same for the Canadiens against the Bruins. Maroon, who turned down longer-term deals for more money this offseason to play closer to family, struggled at times during the regular season, going 23 games without a goal. But he has scored three goals in the postseason. "I got my game, and I got my confidence back where it needs to be," Maroon said. "It's been a heck of a journey." St. Louis captain Alex Pietrangelo felt Maroon deserved a little puck luck. "He's been working so hard," Pietrangelo said. "What a cool moment for him." It's a major turnaround for the Blues as a team too. On Jan. 3, they had the fewest points in the league and were 11 points out of the second wild card. Binnington, a Calder Trophy finalist who helped sparked the turnaround when he started playing regularly, improved to 8-5 in the postseason. He stopped Radek Faksa on a breakaway in the opening period and also made some key stops in the second extra period. "It was fun for the first three or four periods," Binnington said. "Then I started to get a little tired. We fought until the end. We found a way. It's been working for us." Vince Dunn also scored for St. Louis. "It was a pretty good effort from the get-go. They battled and stayed in it," St. Louis interim coach Craig Berube said. "Their goalie had a great game, but our guys never quit and stayed with it." Bishop made 52 saves and Mats Zuccarello scored for Dallas, which dropped to 5-8 in Game 7s in franchise history. It marked the first time in NHL history that three playoff series were decided in overtime in Game 7 in the same year. San Jose eliminated Vegas and Carolina beat Washington in the first round with Game 7 overtime wins. St. Louis, which improved to 9-8 in Game 7s, outshot Dallas 54-30, including 41-16 in regulation. But Bishop was terrific against his first NHL team, keeping the Stars in the game with a handful of big-time stops in regulation and the overtimes. The Blues jumped in front when Dunn converted a shot from the point 13:30 into the first period. It was his first career playoff goal. Zuccarello then jumped on a fortunate deflection for Dallas, tying it at 1 at 15:55. A clearing attempt by St. Louis forward David Perron hit referee Marc Joannette and bounced into the slot. Binnington was looking in the other direction and never saw Zuccarello's shot. Bishop came into the contest with two shutouts in his only two Game 7 appearances, both with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He made several key saves during a 34-minute stretch when the Blues outshot Dallas 27-2 from the start of the second period. But he was unable to stop what Maroon called a "greasy goal." "I think it went off the post and hit me in the back of the head," Bishop said. "It just laid there." Bishop, a Vezina Trophy finalist, made 46 successive saves before Maroon's tally. "The first word that comes is frustrated," Bishop said. "It's tough to end your season in an overtime game." Information from ESPN Stats & Information and The Associated Press was used in this report.<doc-sep>
What's better than a Game 7? A Game 7 decided in overtime. What's better than that? What the St. Louis Blues did on Tuesday: defeating the Dallas Stars in double overtime for an improbable berth in the Western Conference finals, and doing so off the stick of St. Louis area native Patrick Maroon, no less. Here's a recap of Tuesday night's action (check out replays of every playoff game on ESPN+) and what to watch for Wednesday night, in today's edition of ESPN Stanley Cup Playoffs Daily: Jump ahead: Last night's game | Three stars Play of the night | Today's game | Social post of the day About last night ... Game 7: St. Louis Blues 2, Dallas Stars 1 (2OT) (Blues win the series 4-3) 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs Miss a game from the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs? Want to experience a game again? Every playoff matchup is available for replay on ESPN+. Watch now » Much has been said about the Blues' incredible turnaround, going from last place at the start of January to ... here. We now have two teams in the conference finals that were 300-1 (Blues) and 100-1 (Hurricanes) to win the Stanley Cup at points during the regular season. With his team stalled offensively, Stars goaltender Ben Bishop needed to stand on his head, and he did up until the bitter end. Through two periods, the Blues had 52 shot attempts to the Stars' 22. Since neither team could break through, this one needed to be decided in double overtime, and Patrick Maroon played the part of hometown hero. This is the third Game 7 in these playoffs to be determined in overtime, which is now an NHL record. Three stars 1. Patrick Maroon, LW, St. Louis Blues. Prior to Maroon, the only player to score an OT winner in a Game 7 in or near his hometown was Yvon Lambert in 1979 (Montreal vs. Boston). Lambert was born in Drummondville, Quebec, close to Montreal. 2. Ben Bishop, G, Dallas Stars. One of the biggest reasons this game got to double overtime? The Stars goalie. He was spectacular, making 52 saves. It felt like nobody was going to beat Bishop on Tuesday. 3. Robert Thomas, RW, St. Louis Blues. Two assists and an overall sensational night from the 19-year-old, who became the first teenager with multiple points in a Game 7 since the Canucks' Trevor Linden on April 15, 1989, vs. Calgary. Play of the night Now this is how you draw a penalty. Robert Thomas is unreal with the puck, and his ability to keep it just led Dallas to take a penalty out of desperation. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/WTXwaGSIEm - St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) May 8, 2019 Dud of the night The Dallas Stars were an offensively challenged team in the regular season who seemed to fix their woes in the playoffs. They reverted to old ways Tuesday night. The Stars tied the game with 4:05 left in the first period. Since then the shots are 25-2 for the Blues. - Dimitri Filipovic (@DimFilipovic) May 8, 2019 On the schedule Colorado Avalanche at San Jose Sharks, Game 7, 9 p.m. ET (series tied 3-3) All signs point to Sharks captain Joe Pavelski returning for Game 7. That's huge for San Jose, which has been without him for the whole series following his injury in Game 7 of the first round. They've compensated with a strong bounce-back goaltending performance from Martin Jones. Colorado, which has arrived ahead of schedule, can make its first Western Conference finals since 2002 .The Avalanche's top line hasn't totally been on the past few games, and the team needs it to have a big Game 7; Nathan MacKinnon feels particularly due for another big moment. Social post of the day Patrick Maroon's son after his father scored the OT winner. I'm not crying, you are. pic.twitter.com/wf8zE8aHv0 - Leah Kessel (@leahflame) May 8, 2019 Maroon took less money and term to sign with his hometown team this summer, and be with his son more often. Quotable "That's kinda been the story of the season. When our backs are against the wall we play our best and find a way to fight through it." -- Blues winger Robert Thomas.