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Heika: Stars aren't worried that their playoff adolescence showed in game that had a split personality

The drama of playoff hockey can be exhilarating, nauseating and humbling all at the same time.

And just imagine if you're playing.

The Stars are still in their adolescence as a playoff team, and that showed Sunday afternoon at American Airlines Center in a 4-3 overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues. But being tied after two games in the second-round best-of-7 series and seeing a group of young players learn a few lessons isn't the worst thing in the world, coach Lindy Ruff said.

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"Some of these guys have probably never seen the kind of pressure they're going to see," Ruff said. "A Stanley Cup overtime game, killing a penalty out there. I think our guys, for the most part, have handled that well."

For some, such as Cody Eakin, Game 2 against the Blues was like acing a mid-term. For others, such as Antoine Roussel, it was an essay book filled with red marks. Eakin finished with three assists in 24:52 of time on ice and won 15 of 26 faceoffs (58 percent), helping set up the tying goal in the third period with 2:36 left. Roussel took three penalties and watched two times from the penalty box as the Blues scored, including the game-winner from David Backes at 10:58 of overtime.

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It was an interesting reflection of a game that had a split personality. The Blues bounced back from a Game 1 loss and took a 3-1 lead after two periods. St. Louis chased starting goalie Kari Lehtonen after 20 minutes and seemed perilously close to getting to relief netminder Antti Niemi in the second period. But Dallas then dominated the third period, tied the score, and looked to have all of the momentum.

That's when Roussel was tagged for an interference call as he tried to hold the offensive blue line on a rush and instead set a pick on Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester. Backes popped in the rebound of an Alex Steen shot on the ensuing power play, and the Stars turned from celebrating potential victory to focusing on lessons learned.

"He's trying to do the right thing," Stars captain Jamie Benn said of the Roussel penalty. "It's a tough call. It is what it is, and you move on."

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Eakin added, "The guy goes out and puts his body on the line every game, and he doesn't get many calls against him. He's obviously frustrated taking them, but he'll change up for next game and he'll be real sharp."

That's the way of the playoffs for this Stars team. John Klingberg, Stephen Johns, Radek Faksa and Mattias Janmark are in their first visit, and each seems to be getting better at handing the pressure. Meanwhile, players such as Eakin, Roussel and even Benn logged playoff game No. 14 on Sunday and also are still learning.

Lehtonen has been marvelous in the playoffs but was chased after allowing three goals on five shots in the first period. Ruff said the veteran will learn from it. Meanwhile, the team rallied back and tied the score by outshooting St. Louis 13-2 in the third period. Eakin deflected one puck to Janmark for a breakaway that cut the lead to 3-2, and then deflected one to Benn, who tied the score late in the third.

It was a great answer to a tough question. In fact, this series is a battle of tests forged by two different teams trying to play two different brands of hockey. The Stars were successful in Game 1, the Blues were better in Game 2.

Now, Dallas has to try to cram for Tuesday's Game 3 in St. Louis and come up with some new knowledge.

"Some handle the situation better than others. I think that Cody had really started to thrive inside this series. A guy like Faksa has been able to thrive so far and do a nice job," Ruff said of the younger players. "My job is to try to get them to play where they're relaxed and just playing the game."

Killer penalties

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Antoine Roussel committed three penalties on Sunday. A breakdown of the penalties and their ramifications:

Twitter: @MikeHeika