Advantage: San Jose?
Sharks feeling good heading home tied with St. Louis in Western final.
SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Sharks have been best this year when they had little margin for error.
That’s likely why they are comfortable heading home for Game 5 in the Western Conference final against the St. Louis Blues after a tough road loss Friday night in Game 4.
Having dropped a second lead in the series, the Sharks will return to St. Louis on the hunt or against the wall.
“It’s a great spot to be in,” coach Peter DeBoer said Saturday. “We’re right where I expected we would be, in a good spot going home, and we’ve got to get the job done.”
The Sharks and Blues now have a best-of-three to decide who plays the Bruins for the Stanley Cup. Boston swept Carolina in the East and will have 10 days off before the final starst May 27.
Nothing has come easy for either team. The Blues went six games against Winnipeg before needing double overtime in Game 7 of the second round against Dallas to make it this far.
The Sharks took Vegas and Colorado to seven games, partly because San Jose is 0-6 these playoffs when leading a series. They are 10-2 when tied or behind, including four wins in elimination games and a first-round rally from a 3-1 hole dug by the Golden Knights.
“There’s a lot of emotion in the playoffs,” Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said. “We’re in the conference finals. We’ve had overtime wins, we’ve had Game 7s.
“You just lace them back up next game and you compete.”
Ivan Barbashev scored 35 seconds into Game 4 Friday and the Blues added another late in the first then hung on for a 2-1 win. It was a big rebound from Game 3, when the Blues allowed the tying goal with 1:01 left in regulation and the overtime winner off an illegal hand pass.
“We’re in a good spot,” coach Craig Berube said. “Just be aggressive as a team and be confident as a team. That’s our message. You’re going to have ups and downs in the playoffs and you have to move on from it.
“As much as we had to move on from that Game 3 loss, we have to move on from last night’s win.”
In Game 5, the Sharks must play as they did in the final two periods of Game 4. They controlled the puck and held the Blues in their end for long stretches.
The only issue was rookie goalie Jordan Binnington, who stopped 11 shots for the Blues in the second and 9 of 10 in the third. He allowed only a power-play goal to Tomas Hertl on the way to his franchise-record 10th win this postseason. He improved to 11-2 this season in games after a loss.
“As soon as people start doubting him, he pulls another sick performance,” winger David Perron said.
Another concern for the Sharks is the health of Erik Karlsson, who played one shift in the final 9:24 after missing 27 of the final 33 games in the regular season with groin injuries. DeBoer has given no update on Karlsson’s condition.