NHL STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS : Another Upset for North Stars

Jon Casey stopped 31 shots as the Minnesota North Stars continued their upset run in the NHL playoffs with a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues in the opening game of the Norris Division finals Thursday night.

Dave Gagner got the North Stars’ 16th power-play goal of the playoffs at 1:46 of the first period and Shane Churla, who had only two goals during the regular season, scored with 11 seconds left in the period.

Casey shut out the Blues the first two periods before Rich Sutter scored on his own rebound at 4:35 of the third.

The Blues were 5-1-2 against the North Stars during the regular season and had 37 more points while finishing with the second-best record in the league. They also have the highest point total of the remaining teams in the playoffs, but they are having a hard time handling the favorite’s role.

St. Louis fell behind three games to one before defeating the Detroit Red Wings in the first round and will be playing catch-up again in Game 2 Saturday night.