DALLAS — When first-year Dallas Stars coach Jim Montgomery called out his team over a “culture of mediocrity” in January, the St. Louis Blues weren’t too far removed from having the worst record in the NHL. That most recent playoff trip in 2016 ended with a Game 7 loss in the second round to the Blues in Dallas. And Montgomery is the second Stars coach to do it, following Dave Tippett in 2003. “It kind of gets a smile.”The Blues and Stars were the lower seeds in their first-round matchups. We all know how the Blues are playing, how good they are.”Neither team was saying that when the calendar turned to 2019.

Source: National Post April 23, 2019 06:45 UTC