Tag: St. Louis Blues

NHL podcast with Matt Harrington: Ducks get an OT gift from Getzlaf; Backstrom’s hat trick helps pace Caps; Barkov gets OT goal as Panthers slip by Sabres 3-2; plus more

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photo from newsobserver.com: Carolina Hurricanes’ Jordan Martinook (48) has his shot blocked by Anaheim Ducks goaltender John Gibson (36) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018

On the NHL podcast with Matt:

#1 The Anaheim Ducks on Friday night got a key win over the Carolina Hurricanes in overtime when the Ducks’ Ryan Getzlaf got a breakaway goal that rang the post to give the Ducks a 3-2 win over the Canes. Getzlaf’s goal came at 1:15 in the overtime.

#2 Nicklas Backstrom hadn’t had a hat trick since 2014, but got one for the history books on Friday night for the Washington Capitals as this team is hot with seven straight wins as they picked up a three-goal win over New Jersey.

#3 The Florida Panthers’ Alexsander Barkov at 2:26 in overtime got the game-winner as the Panthers edged the Buffalo Sabres 3-2. Buffalo lost it’s second game in two nights.

#4 There was no stopping the Calgary Flames as Mikael Backlund got two goals and assist to put away the Los Angeles Kings on Friday night 4-1.

#5 The St. Louis Blues in overtime got a goal from Colton Parayko to defeat the Colorado Avalanche 3-2. The last place Blues improved their record to 9-12-3 while the Avs dropped their record to 15-6-5 Avs are in second in the Central. The Avs snapped their six-game win streak with the loss to the Blues.

Matt does the NHL podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Shut Out Blues 4-0, Erik Karlsson Scores

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Photo credit: @nbcbayarea

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — In an unusual twist, the San Jose Sharks defeated the St. Louis Blues 4-0, a mirror image of their loss in St. Louis eight days ago. Joe Pavelski scored twice, with additional goals from Erik Karlsson and Evander Kane. It was Karlsson’s first goal as a Shark. Logan Couture had assists on three of those goals. Aaron Dell, who was also in net on the eighth in St. Louis, made 30 saves for the shutout. Blues goaltender Chad Johnson made 25 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said:

Tonight was kind of classic Shark hockey and that’s good, that’s what we were striving for. No breakaways, that was nice. I don’t know if they had any two on ones, you know there was a couple of breakdowns here and there and Deller was great for us. But we got the offense off of being smart and it comes if you do it right, for the most part. Tonight was a good bounce back game for us.

Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer credited the team’s attention to detail: “I thought our attention to detail was much better. It helped getting the lead and getting a couple goals and playing out in front. I thought Deller made a couple saves at the right time. There were some scrambles there where, you know, if we let one in maybe the game swings a little bit, but I thought overall our attention to detail all over the ice was the best it’s been in probably a week or so.”

The first period was contentious, with the teams exchanging good chances without many whistles. The Blues had a power play very early in the period, a tripping call against Couture 48 seconds in. The Sharks killed that off and had their own power play start in the final seconds of the period. David Perron went to the box for interference at 19:38. The Sharks had the lead in shots 14-9, but overall, the period did not favor either team.

The conclusion of that Sharks’ power play started the second period. San Jose did not score, but the Blues could not clear the puck either. The Sharks did not even get a chance to change units until the penalty expired. Just as it did, Kevin Labanc was tripped, giving the Sharks another power play.

As the final seconds of the second power play wound down, the Sharks gained the zone and a Couture shot rebounded right up the slot for Karlsson. Karlsson picked a corner over Johnson’s shoulder and scored his first goal as a Shark. Assists went to Couture and Kane.

The Blues responded with furious energy in their offense. They got a three on one shortly after the goal, and then spent a long spell in the Sharks zone, thwarting efforts to clear the puck. They did not, however, get many shots on goal. It was the Sharks who scored next.

Pavelski went into the zone 2-on-1 with Timo Meier. He passed it to Meier for the shot, but Johnson stopped that. Pavelski got to the rebound just as he reached the goal line and muscled a shot past Jay Bouwmeester by the post. Assists went to Meier and Couture. It was Pavelski’s 12th goal of the season.

The Sharks did not wait long to stretch out their lead. 1:14 later, a pass off the rush from Karlsson found Kane in the slot as both skaters moved to the net. Kane took the shot for his seventh goal of the season. Assists went to Karlsson and Antti Suomela.

At the break that followed the third goal, the shots for the period were 11-2 San Jose. That count shifted a little as the period went on, with some important saves from Dell. The Blues in their own zone a couple of times, wearing them down so that a stop by Dell was the only option for relief. By the end of the period, the shots were 13-10 for the Sharks, or 7-2 Blues for the second half of the period.

That shot disparity carried on through the third period, with the Sharks only getting credit for two shots in the final frame. The Blues got 11 shots during the third, but the only goal was scored by Pavelski. Couture pushed his way across the blue line with the puck and created a two on one opportunity with Pavelski. Couture’s timely pass found Pavelski inside the faceoff dot with the goaltender still coming across the goal mouth. It was Pavelski’s 13th of the season. Assists went to Couture and Meier.

The Sharks next play Tuesday against the visiting Edmonton Oilers at 7:30 PM PT.

NHL podcast with Matt Harrington: Kings’ Peterson plays the most fun game of his life; Blues come to SJ after win in Vegas; Leafs too hot to handle, get by Ducks 2-1; plus more

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Chicago 5 Sports photo: The Los Angeles Kings Nate Thompson (44) congratulates Kings goaltender Calvin Peterson (40) following Friday night’s game at the United Center in Chicago against the Blackhawks

On the NHL podcast with Matt Harrington: 

#1 For the Los Angeles Kings goaltender Calvin Peterson, it was a homecoming facing the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night at the United Center. Peterson was a player with the Chicago Young Americans of the Midwest Elite Hockey League; played at the United Center when he was with Notre Dame during the Frozen Four. Peterson stopped 34 shots in the Kings victory over the Hawks 2-1.

#2 The St Louis Blues who come to SAP Center tonight against the San Jose Sharks picked up a huge victory at T Mobile Center on Friday in a 4-1 victory against the Vegas Golden Knights. Goals from Ryan O’Reilly–two of them help pace the Blues to victory.

#3 The red-hot Toronto Maple Leafs who have won six of their last seven including a win last Thursday over the San Jose Sharks defeated the Anaheim Ducks 2-1. The Leafs Morgan Reilly scored an overtime breakaway goal for the winner. It was Reilly’s ninth goal of the season and 26th point.

#4 The Washington Capitals’ Nicklas Backstrom didn’t waste any time scoring a power play goal 22 second into overtime to help edge the Colorado Alvalanche 3-2. The Caps’ Alex Ovechkin and Devante Smith-Pelly also scored.

#5 The Dallas Stars shutout the Boston Bruins behind Jason Dickinson’s goal a rebound at 1:34 in overtime. The Stars’ Ben Bishop stopped 23 shots. Big win for the Stars and tough loss for the Bruins.

Matt Harrington does the NHL podcast each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Blues Shut Out Sharks 4-0

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Photo credit: @StLouisBlues

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 4-0 to the St. Louis Blues at the Scottrade Center on Friday–their second loss in a row, both to Central Division teams. Goals came from Alex Pietrangelo, Ryan O’Reilly, Jaden Schwartz and Alexander Steen. Chad Johnson made 33 saves for the shutout. Sharks goaltender Aaron Dell made 27 saves on 31 shots for the Sharks.

Each team had four power plays, but all of the goals were at even strength. It was the sixth win of the season for St. Louis and the sixth loss for the Sharks.

After the game, Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer said: “I think yesterday we were reckless but we had energy. Today we were reckless without energy.”

Sharks captain Joe Pavelksi said: “We’re a better team than we showed the last two games. Just the simple breakdowns, kind of getting out of the system, we kind of see what happens. It can cost you.”

Asked about the Sharks’ defensive game, Pavelski said: “I’m fine with our foundation, you know, I’m really satisfied with that. It’s about us executing it a little bit better. And we need to be a little bit more committed to it.”

Asked if the breakdowns might be attributed to having new faces on the team this season, Sharks forward Logan Couture said: “We’re 17 games in. It’s almost a quarter of the season. You can use that excuse for one or two or maybe even three, you can’t use it for 17. So, we’ve got to figure it out.”

After the game in Dallas on Thursday, coach DeBoer made some line changes. Marcus Sorensen was with Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton, while Evander Kane was on a line with Antti Suomela and Joonas Donskoi. Barclay Goodrow was on a line with Rourke Chartier and Melker Karlsson. With Tomas Hertl still out with concussion symptoms, Kevin Labanc was on the top line with Logan Couture and Timo Meier. On defense, Tim Heed stepped into Joakim Ryan’s spot with Brent Burns. Aaron Dell was in net, which was to be expected in the second game of back to backs.

The Blues scored at 14:50 of the first period. The teams were playing four on four, with Joe Pavelski and Vince Dunn in the box for mutual slashing penalties. Ironically, no one was in the box for Alex Pietrangelo’s stick to Barclay Goodrow’s face, which sent the Sharks forward to the room for repairs.

Just over 30 seconds into the penalties, Pietrangelo caught a pass from Vladimir Tarasenko right in the slot. He had time to pick a spot and shoot over Dell’s shoulder. Assists went to Tarasenko and Ryan O’Reilly.

The Sharks ended the first period in the middle of a power play. That power play wound down without a goal to start the second period. The Blues extended their lead with a goal at 5:28 from Ryan O’Reilly. The Sharks had been outshooting the Blues 5-0 on the period, including some short-handed chances, but play went the other way and Tarasenko got the puck out from behind the Sharks net to Jaden Schwartz. Schwartz sent the puck across the slot to O’Reilly, who caught Dell moving across.

Almost ten minutes later, the Blues scored again. This time, the goal followed a prolonged assault from St. Louis. The Sharks were forced to ice the puck and the Blues took advantage of tired defenders. Jaden Schwartz went to the net an awaited a pass from Tyler Bozak to his right. the short pass set him up for a nice shot over a moving goalie. Assists went to Bozak and Alexander Steen.

The Blues ended the second period on a power play and started the third finishing it off. The Sharks got their third power play of the game at 8:11 of the third. The power play was not very strong and the Sharks gave up a short-handed breakaway to Bozak in the final seconds. Dell was able to prevent another goal.

At 12:21, Steen scored a fourth for the Blues while Sharks got tangled up with a flurry of Blues skaters in the slot. Steen skated around and through the traffic and put his shot over Dell’s pads. Assists went to Bozak and Colton Parayko.

Brent Burns took a tripping penalty moments later, putting the Sharks on the penalty kill. The Blues did not take chances with their power play and killed time, holding the zone. Dell made a good glove save on Parayko, but didn’t have to make many saves for that penalty kill.

The Sharks next play on Sunday back in San Jose against the Calgary Flames at 6:00 PM PT. That game will kick off a six-game homestand for Team Teal.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Sharks didn’t go on without a fight in loss to Blues to snap win streak

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Photo credit: nhl.com/sharks

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh:

#1 The loss by the San Jose Sharks to the St. Louis Blues to end their eight-game win streak didn’t go without a fight as the game was forced into overtime by the Sharks as they tried to keep their streak alive.

#2 St. Louis Blues’ Vladimir Tarasenko took a pass from Vladimir Sobotka from behind the net. Sobotka took the puck in front of the net and passed it to Tarasenko show put it past San Jose goalie Aaron Dell, who was expecting it long side; but Tarasenko got the goal short side at 2:33 in the overtime stanza to get the Blues past the Sharks.

#3 Dell was left off balance on Tarasenko’s shot thinking he was going to get to the puck, but the game-winner made it in.

#4 Tarasenko is the Blues’ leading scorer with 31 goals and has also shot for 30 or more in each of the last four years.

#5 The Sharks head into Nashville for Thursday night’s contest. The Predators snapped a three-game loss streak on Tuesday loss streak and are looking to start putting a win streak together with the Sharks coming to town. This should be one of the best games of the week head-to-head.

Mary Lisa does the Sharks podcast each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Sharks’ win streak ends at eight with 3-2 OT loss to Blues

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Photo credit: NHL.com/blues

By Pearl Allison Lo

The St. Louis Blues ended San Jose’s win streak with a 3-2 overtime win at the Scottrade Center Tuesday.

It was the Blues’ fourth overtime win during their now six-game streak.

It was another close game for both teams and the Sharks’ second back-to-back game that went beyond regulation.  

St. Louis, however, was the more desperate team in the Wild Card race. With the win, they moved above the blue line alongside the Los Angeles Kings. Vladimir Tarasenko won the game with his second of the match, the only time the Blues led in the game.

San Jose lost forward Barclay Goodrow due to an upper-body injury just 1:56 into the game, but was still able to start out with the lead for the third game in a row. Evander Kane struck for the third game in a row with his fifth point during that time.

However, the Sharks left the period without the lead again as Oskar Sundqvist scored his first goal and first with St. Louis to tie it at 17:43.

San Jose able to go ahead again in the second. Brent Burns found Pavelski who hit the top left corner at 7:07. Pavelski now has 20 goals and Burns 50 assists. The power play goal ended the Blues’ three-game streak of limiting their opponents to a lone goal.

St. Louis duplicated the opening third by responding in the same period with their own on the man advantage. Tarasenko hit his mark at the top right corner from the middle of the right faceoff circle at 12:03. It was Tarasenko’s 30th goal on the season.

Both teams stayed tied at two apiece as they searched for the game-winner. The Blues had an especially spirited attack in the third starting with 7:45 left. In two minutes, St. Louis garnered two shots, two missed shots, one blocked shot and two hits.

The Sharks’ Logan Couture mentioned coach playing “three and a quarter lines” in the third and it “caught up to us.”

St. Louis had all three shots in overtime. Brayden Schenn had one of them, a blocked shot four seconds later and a missed shot. Alex Pietrangelo, who had a game-high five shots, had the Blues’ second shot.

Tarasenko’s goal came after Sobotka preoccupied San Jose at one end before receiving his backwards pass.

The Sharks lost Barclay Goodrow in the middle of the first period. Sharks coach Pete DeBoer after the game mentioned it as an upper-body injury, but the extent beyond that is murky.  

Game Notes: Jake Allen, who has been in net each game of the Blues’ win streak, made 22 saves in the win for St. Louis. On the other side, Aaron Dell made 29 saves in a losing effort for San Jose.

Up Next: The Sharks visit the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena Saturday at 5 pm PST.

Sharks’ Power Play Slump Snaps After 30 Attempts as They Blank Blues 2-0

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Jerry Feitelberg

The San Jose Sharks finally snapped their power play drought, and it came at the most opportune time. Mikkel Boedker broke a scoreless tie with 7:48 left in regulation, scoring on the man-advantage for San Jose’s first extra strength goal in 13 games. Tomas Hertl added an empty-net goal and San Jose limited the St. Louis Blues to a season-low 16 shots on goal in a 2-0 win. Martin Jones picked up the shutout, helping San Jose leapfrog the Anaheim Ducks into second place in the Pacific Division with a game in hand.

The Sharks entered the game on an 0-28 power play skid, the absence of prolific passer Joe Thornton (out with a knee injury) evident in every missed opportunity.  A second period Blues penalty didn’t yield better results. It wasn’t until Kyle Brodziak picked up a holding the stick infraction with 9:30 left in the final frame to put San Jose up a man.

Joonas Donskoi went to work, dangling along the boards before working the puck to Dylan Demelo on the blue line. Demelo tapped the puck right back to Donskoi who worked his way up the boards to the faceoff dots. From there he fed a pass to Boedker who was cocked in the slot. Boedker’s quick-release snapshot beat Blues goalie Jake Allen over his blocker shoulder for the Dane’s 13th goal of the season. Demelo picked up the second assist on the goal, notching his fifth point in three March games.

Allen played an otherwise spectacular game, making 34 saves to keep the Blues in the game despite being greatly outshot. It was a performance made all the more impressive by the fact that Allen wasn’t expected to start. As early as morning skate, backup goalie Carter Hutton was expected to get the nod against his former team. An injury forced Allen into net, giving Palo Alto native Ben Wexler the chance to suit up as emergency backup goaltender. Wexler’s highest level of play before tonight was club hockey at the University of Illinois.

Tomas Hertl punched in an empty-netter with 15 seconds left, with Brent Burns picking up an assist on the Czech’s 16th goal of the year. San Jose pulled ahead of the Ducks, losers 4-2 in Nashville, but couldn’t gain ground of Los Angeles. The Kings beat the Washington Capitals 3-1 at home Thursday.

Up Next: The Sharks host the Washington Capitals on Friday afternoon at 1:00 pm PT.

San Jose Sharks Podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Sharks look to improve on the power play face off with Blues Thursday

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Photo credit: @NBCSSharks

On the San Jose Sharks Podcast with Mary Lisa:

1 How bad is the Sharks power play they were 0-28 and hoping to get a power play goal  against the St Louis Blues at SAP Center Thurday

2 Former Shark Jonathan Cheechoo, aged 37, is hanging up the sweater after skating in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League for the last four years. During his Sharks days, Cheechoo led the NHL in scoring in 2005-06 with 56 goals. It’s almost like yesterday when Cheechoo was skating for the Sharks.

3 After beating the Edmonton Oilers and Chicago Blackhawks last week, the Sharks took a tough loss at the SAP Center on Sunday night 4-2 to the Columbus Blue Jackets in a game that Mary Lisa covered.

4 The Jackets’ Artemi Panarin scored twice and was the difference for the Blue Jackets in the win.

5 It’s the St. Louis Blues Thursday night at the SAP Center and Mary Lisa tells you how she see these two teams matching up.

Mary Lisa Walsh covers Sharks hockey each Friday, Saturday and Sunday games at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

Sharks edge Blues 3-2 to extend winning streak to three games

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~ Photo credit: NHL.com

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ The San Jose Sharks scored three goals off six shots as they extended their winning streak to three games after escaping with a 3-2 win over the St. Louis Blues at Scottrade Center on Tuesday.

Both teams saw each other for the first time this season as the Blues lost a season-high four straight games.

The Sharks have scored three goals in their last three and held their opponents to two or less in their last four games.

Both Logan Couture and Mikkel Boedker got a goal and an assist apiece. Boedker, with seven points during his four-game goal streak, earned the game-winner with 4:06 left in regulation.    

Goalie Martin Jones made 31 saves and put together his and San Jose’s third straight win with a late game assist by Brent Burns. The Blues outshot the Sharks 24-11 during the last two periods.  

Marc-Edouard Vlasic had a chance near the end of the first that was redirected by Boedker and clanked off the right post.

After putting up zeroes in the first, both teams went the other way in the second with multiple goals each.

First, Couture cashed in after scooping up Boedker’s rebound and then lifting the puck at 6:35.

Less than two minutes later, Ivan Barbashev evened the sheet on a 2-on-1 from the left faceoff circle.

Undaunted, Joonas Donskoi made it 2-1 on a 3-on-2 from the right faceoff circle at the 12:05 mark. It was Donskoi’s first since January 13 as he hit almost the same spot in the net as Couture.

Boedker then put San Jose up 3-1 as he crashed the net and moved the puck underneath Carter Hutton’s right pad.

The Blues kept the game close though heading to the third. 10 seconds after drawing a penalty, Vladimir Tarasenko pulled his team back to within one. Vince Dunn got the primary assist as his shot went off Jones and rolled to Tarasenko. Tarasenko now has four points in his last three games.

With just over four minutes left in the game, Burns went fishing behind Jones to help keep Saint Louis at bay. Burns returned to continue his Iron man streak after missing the majority of the third period last game.

Game Notes: The Sharks’ recent power plays stand at 0-for-13. Sharks management made a pre-game trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs when they acquired Eric Fehr in exchange for a 2020 7th-round draft selection.

Up Next: The Sharks will take on the Nashville Predators Thursday at 5 pm PT for game two of their four-game road trip.

Sharks Win Western Conference Final 4-2

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By Mary Walsh

AP photo: San Jose Sharks celebrate their first Western Conference title in franchise history with the Western Conference title Cup on Wednesday night at SAP Center

SAN JOSE– The San Jose Sharks punched their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday, by defeating the St. Louis Blues 5-2 in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final. The 4-2 series win represents the first time the Sharks have prevailed in a conference final, the first time they will compete for the Cup.

Joe Pavelski scored the first goal of the game, Joonas Donskoi scored the fourth, Joel Ward scored the two in between and Logan Couture tidied up with an empty net goal. Vladimir Tarasenko scored twice for the Blues late in the third period. Sharks goaltender Martin Jones made 24 stops for the historic win, while Brian Elliott made 22 for the Blues.

It is the third time that some of the Sharks have been to the Western Conference Final, among these is Joe Thornton. He talked about the win after the game:

It’s a pretty cool feeling. Obviously it’s our first time here so it was pretty neat to get this done at home. Fans here have waited so long, 25 years, and we’ve waited” here he turned to verify with Patrick Marleau, “18 years or so. So it’s a great feeling. And this team, we’ve always said we’ve got a deep team and we truly believe we’ve got a deep team. And you saw tonight all twelve forwards played big parts, all six D played big parts and Joner played great. This is really truly a team effort from top to bottom.”

Patrick Marleau said he does not wonder why this group has made it so much farther than previous Sharks teams:

“We’re just enjoying the ride right now. We’ve had some really good teams over the years but like Joe was saying, this team’s a little bit different. The confidence we built over the regular season and now in the playoffs. I think winning on the road helped us get close as a group during the regular season and it carried over into the playoffs so far. Just having each other’s back out there and working for each other.

Head coach Pete DeBoer said that he believed this team could get this far right at the start of the season. This, despite or perhaps because of their troubled recent seasons:

They were coming off a down season but they were coming off a decade of great hockey. They had been well coached. Todd McLellan and the previous staff are as good as there are in the business. These guys had a great foundation. Right place, right time. Everyone was ready for something a little bit fresher and newer, not anything that much different. But that and the additions Doug [Wilson, Sharks GM] made, it just came together.

“I inherited a similiar team in New Jersey when I went there. Same type of thing, they had missed the playoffs for the first time in a long time the year before I got there. I think when you go into that situation, when you have really good people like there was in New Jersey when I went in there, like there was with this group. They’re pissed off, they’re embarassed by the year they just had and they’re willing to do and buy into whatever you’re selling to get it fixed again.”

Today I heard someone suggest that the other three teams in these conference finals get more air time than the San Jose Sharks do because there is nothing controversial about the Sharks. They are not swapping their goalies around, they are not switching their lines around, their star players are not underperforming, there is no supplementary drama. They just go out and do what they are supposed to do. But for fans of this team, this playoff run has been very dramatic, very suspenseful. They may be cheering like mad in the audience, but there are a lot of fans just holding their breath through every game.

The Sharks played up to that hum-drum reputation when Joe Pavelski got credit for the first goal of the game just 3:57 in. Assists went to Joe Thornton and Tomas Hertl.

Apart from the last half minute of the period, the Sharks won the first period handily. Those final thirty seconds were getting out of hand, as the Sharks failed to clear several times and had the puck snatched away from them a few more. But they were saved by the bell and came away form the first with a 1-0 lead and a 9-5 shot advantage.

Seconds after that shot, play went the other way and the Tierney line wrought some havoc in the Blues’ zone. A Brent Burns shot went off Joel Ward’s stick for his fifth goal of the playoffs. Assists went to Burns and Tierney.

The Sharks earned their first power play when Troy Brouwer took an interference penalty early in the second period. San Jose’s power play did not convert but did bump their shot count to 13 without alowing the Blues to take a shot before close to the five minute mark of the period.

Scottie Upshall, back in the Blues lineup after sitting out the last three games, caught Tommy Wingels in the face with a high stick at 6:08 and drew blood, earning himself a double minor.

The four minutes of power play time seemed to lull the Sharks into complacency, or else it galvanized the Blues. The Blues took a couple of short-handed shots and the Sharks had more trouble getting through the neutral zone than they had previously. They accomplished the most immediate goal: of maintaining a two goal lead.

That was not enough for coach DeBoer. He used his timeout with just over five minutes left in the period. The Sharks had been scrambling and the Blues were making up ground on the shot clock. The end of the second had that in common with the end of the first: the Blues pushed the Sharks and Martin Jones had to make a few more stops. The Couture line had a good shift in the final 20 seconds but the Blues outshot the Sharks in the second, 11-10.

That second line picked up where they left off to start the third period, crowding into the Blues’ zone and making Elliott stop a shot from close in. It took them a few more shifts, but they finally caught what they were hunting: a third goal. It was only part of the Couture line. Ward was on the ice momentarily instead of Donskoi. As a result, he scored his second of the game and seventh of the playoffs. Assists went to Couture and Patrick Marleau.

The crowd went a little bit crazy. Richard Dean Anderson was shown helping duct tape Sharkie’s drum back together in one of the tunnels.

The Blues ruined the shut out with 8:21 left in the game. Vladimir Tarasenko got his first point in the series by way of a goal. Assists went to Jori Lehtera and Colton Parayko.

At 15:35, the teams were both penalized after a scuffle by the benches. Tommy Wingels (slashing) and Kevin Shattenkirk (cross-checking) both went to the box for two minutes. The Blues pulled Elliott for the additional skater and Tarasenko made a game of it with a second goal at 16:25. It squeezed through a gap between Jones’ blocker and the pipe. Assists went to Paul Stasny and Alex Pietrangelo. The Blues tried the same shot again a few seconds later but Jones adjusted.

The Blues continued to push right to the end of the period, until Logan Couture was able to put the puck in the empty net.

The Sharks will play the winner of the Eastern Conference Final in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday.