Burns’ 2 goals help Sharks defeat Blues
ST. LOUIS — Brent Burns scored San Jose’s first two power-play goals of the NHL Western Conference finals, and Martin Jones stopped 26 shots for his second shutout of the postseason as the Sharks beat the St. Louis Blues 4-0 on Tuesday night to even the series at a game apiece.
Tommy Wingels and Dainius Zubrus also scored, and Logan Couture had two assists to help San Jose bounce back from a tight loss in the opener. Game 3 is Thursday night at San Jose.
Brian Elliott made 20 saves for St. Louis, which is 4-5 at home and 5-2 on the road in the postseason.
Burns’ fifth and sixth goals of the postseason came on one-timers with Troy Brouwer in the penalty box and were his only shots of the game. In other hockey news: • The United States advanced to the quarterfinals of the world championship despite a 3-2 overtime loss to Slovakia at St. Petersburg, Russia. Slovakia would have qualified instead of the Americans with a win in regulation, but the U.S. earned a point by forcing overtime, which was enough to secure fourth place in Group B. Canada, Finland and Germany also advanced from Group B, but the Finns are the only unbeaten team after routing Canada 4-0. Finland finished atop Group B, setting up a quarterfinal against Denmark, which made the playoffs only once before, while Canada must face Sweden in a rematch of the 2014 Olympic final. Sweden lost to host Russia 4-1. Russia will meet Germany in the quarters.
• The 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team’s victory over the Soviet Union is forever remembered as the “Miracle on Ice.” Now, Jim Craig, the goaltender of that gold medal-winning team, is parting with his most prized items from one of the greatest sporting moments of the 20th century. Estimated to bring between $5 million and $7 million, the 17 items are being offered through the online auction house Lelands.com. The sale went live Tuesday and ends June 17. Items include Craig’s gold medal, with a pre-sale estimate of $1.5 million to $2 million.