Blues Have a Reasoner to Believe

The Dallas Stars knew they had to contain St. Louis’ Pierre Turgeon, Keith Tkachuk and Scott Young.

But Marty Reasoner?

Reasoner, who played nearly as many games this season in the minors as he did in the NHL, set up the Blues’ first goal and scored the next two as St. Louis defeated Dallas, 4-2, Friday night at Dallas in the opener of the Western Conference semifinal series.

“I don’t think Dallas was too worried about me,” said Reasoner, who played in only one of six games in the first round.

“That’s what the playoffs are all about,” Blues’ Coach Joel Quenneville said. “Sometimes guys you don’t expect end up coming through for you--not that we don’t think Marty can do that.”

The Stars suffered another loss early in the second period when center Mike Modano knocked legs with Alexei Gusarov. Modano limped off the ice with an injured left ankle and did not return. He left the arena wearing a walking boot.

An MRI exam today will determine whether Modano, who leads Dallas with three goals and five points this postseason, will be back for Game 2 on Sunday night.

“He’s our best player,” Dallas Coach Ken Hitchcock said. “So it would be as deflating as if St. Louis lost Turgeon.”

The Stars were trailing 2-1 when Modano left. Within eight minutes, they were down 4-1.

“He’s a top player, a big part of their power play and 5-on-5,” Quenneville said. “It was a break for us knowing he didn’t play a majority of the game.”

Former Blues’ star Brett Hull tried leading a comeback, but he was repeatedly snuffed by goalie Roman Turek, who also was facing his former team.

Turek, a backup on Dallas’ 1999 Stanley Cup championship squad, made 21 saves--including five on Hull in the third period--to improve to 4-0-2 against the Stars.

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After briefly testing his sore right leg, Jaromir Jagr isn’t sure he’ll be ready for Game 2 of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ playoff series today with the Buffalo Sabres.

Jagr, who set up Mario Lemieux’s game-winning goal in the first period of Game 1, sustained what the Penguins are calling a “charley horse,” and missed the third period. He refuses to say how or when he was hurt, only that it happened when he was checked in the second period.