Sharks blank Blues, even series 1-1
Goalie Jones, special teams provide home-bound San Jose with momentum
In Game 1 of their NHL Western Conference finals against the St. Louis Blues, the San Jose Sharks were arguably the better team but were on the losing end of the contest. In Game 2, they were the stronger team again, but this time the scoreboard showed it, too.
With the help of terrific goaltending from Martin Jones and a strong showing on special teams, the Sharks topped the Blues 4-0 Tuesday to even the series 1-1 as it moves to San Jose.
Jones set the tone with his play early in the first period, making a heads-up save on a shot from Vladimir Tarasenko after the Blues winger stripped a puck off a defender and fired it at point-blank range into Jones.
Wasting no time, San Jose went the other way, and center Tommy Wingels put a puck on goal that trickled between Blues netminder Brian Elliott’s legs to make it 1-0 2:07 into the game.
Blues captain David Backes got called for tripping with 8:34 left in the period, giving the Sharks a chance to take a two-goal lead on the power play. St. Louis’ penalty kill stayed hot though (it was 3for-3 against San Jose in Game 1) to keep the damage to one goal after the first.
The Blues had a great chance to get on the board early in the second period when Steve Ott sent a pass to Scottie Upshall for a clear-cut breakaway, but Upshall couldn’t quite corral the puck in time and Jones sent it back down the other way.
With Troy Brouwer getting the gate for a slash, the Blues were back on their heels, and that redhot penalty kill finally faltered. Sharks defenseman Brent Burns sent a pass from Joe Pavelski whistling past Elliott with the man advantage to put San Jose up 2-0 at 7:04.
Brouwer tried to redeem himself with one minute left in the period when he fired a shot that beat Jones but hit the far post and deflected out.
Thirty-two seconds into the third period, protecting a 2-0 lead, Sharks forward Patrick Marleau was assessed a double-minor for high-sticking off the faceoff, giving St. Louis a prime chance to cut the lead in half. But the Blues, who went 0-for-6 on the power play while struggling all night, managed three shots on goal in the four-minute span.
Working hard to keep the comeback hopes alive, Elliott made a fantastic save on a Justin Braun 2-on-1 attempt midway through the period.
Hope took a big hit, though, when Brouwer went to the box again, this time for high-sticking. Burns quickly tallied his second score of the night, with assists from Marleau and Logan Couture, to give San Jose a 3-0 lead with 8:04 left in regulation.
Proving they had no puck luck to speak of in the game, St. Louis was painfully close to a score late in the third, but the puck just missed crossing the goal line behind Jones.
While the Blues managed to escape with a win in Game 1 while not playing their best, they couldn’t do it again in Game 2.