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Owning the Blues Sharks win 3rd straight over St Louis 12/17/13 - By Mike Lee - The Sharks just seem to have the St Louis Blues number this season. Two years removed from an embarrassing playoff exit at the hands of the Blues, San Jose took it to St Louis on Tuesday night, beating them for the third straight time this season. San Jose scored four times in a 4-2 win at Scottrade Center in Missouri. In their three victories this season, San Jose has outscored the Blues 16-7. * The Sharks took advantage of a jet-lagged Blues squad that arrived home at 1:30 in the morning after a flight from Ottawa, where the Senators knocked off St Louis 3-2 in an overtime decision on Monday night. * San Jose jumped on the Blues in the opening period, scoring a pair of goals during a three minute span. Joe Pavelski kicked things off with his 13th goal of the season at 9:38, depositing a Martin Havlat bank shot off the end boards. Havlat sent a blast from the top of the left circle wide left of the net, but the rebound kicked outside the opposite post after hitting a stanchion. * Matt Irwin got in on the geometry lesson, punching home another deflection off the end boards after parking himself in front of Blues goaltender Jaroslav Halak at 12:34 of the opening period. Justin Braun fired the puck wide of the left post from the point, but rather than playing an angle, Braun's shot did a 180 after hitting the end boards, landing right on Irwin's stick for the easy deposit. * San Jose continued their hot hand to start the 2nd period when Brent Burns scored for the first time in 9 games 2 minutes in. Burns was took a short feed from Joe Thornton behind the Blues net, then slid around the left post and lifting a wrist shot past Halak for the 3-0 Sharks lead. * The Blues made things interesting with a pair of goals to close out the period and pull to within a goal of the lead. Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi fell victim to a fluke deflection with 4:29 left in the period. Kevin Shattenkirk sent a routine shot in from the top of the left circle, but Sharks forward Andrew Desjardins slide through the slot in an attempt to block the shot. The puck hit Desjardins, but rather than blocking the shot, he deflected it past Niemi. * Jay Bouwmeester added the Blues second goal of the game with a blast through traffic with 24.2 seconds left in the period. Alex Steen fished the puck out of the left corner before heading to the net with Braun in tow. Braun cut in front of Niemi just as Bouwmeester's shot arrived for a perfect screen on his own goaltender. * To the Sharks credit, they didn't lay down. San Jose made it a 4-2 game at 8:19 of the 3rd period when Martin Havlat put back a rebound after Braun clanked a shot off the left post. Havlat was hovering around the left side of the net when Braun hit iron. * Things got interesting late in the contest when Logan Couture was sent off for lifting the puck over the glass for a delay of game penalty. Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock decided to pull Halak for the extra attacker, setting up a 6-on-4 power play for the final two minutes of the contest. The Sharks penalty killers held serve, denying the Blues from drawing any closer than the final two-goal deficit. * Rookie Tomas Hertl extended his rookie league scoring lead with an assist on the Burns goal. * Couture also struggled in the faceoff circle, where he won only 3 of 12 draws. * Sharks head coach Todd McLellan spread the wealth in terms of ice time throughout the game, doling out minutes to his 3rd and 4th lines. No Shark skater had more than 20 minutes of ice time. In contrast, Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo logged 28:09 of ice time. SHARE THIS STORY: What did you think of this article? Post your comments on the Feeder Forums

What did you think of this story? Post your comments on the Feeder Forums Scoring 1 2 3 T SJ 2 1 1 4 STL 0 2 0 2 1st period - 1, SJ, Pavelski 13 (Havlat, Irwin), 9:38. 2, SJ, Irwin 1 (Braun, Marleau), 12:34. 2nd period - 3, SJ, Burns 9 (Thornton, Hertl), 2:00. 4, STL, Shattenkirk 4 (Cole), 15:31. 5, STL, Bouwmeester 3 (Pietrangelo, Steen), 19:35. 3rd period - 6, SJ, Havlat 3 (Braun, Marleau), 8:19. Penalties 1st period - Coliacovo, STL (tripping), 2:16; Stuart, SJ (holding), 5:27; Tarasenko, STL (tripping), 6:26. 2nd period - Jackman, STL (high sticking), 12:24; Wingels, SJ (slashing), 19:27; Roy, STL (slashing), 19:27. 3rd period - Havlat, SJ (hooking), 9:52; Couture, SJ (delay of game - puck over glass), 17:59. Goaltending Shots Saves SJ - Niemi 22 20 STL - Halak 27 23 Shots On Goal 1 2 3 T SJ 10 10 7 27 STL 4 10 8 22 Power Play Conversion SJ 0 of 3 STL 0 of 3 3 Stars of the Game Patrick Marleau Justin Braun Jay Bouwmeester Attendence 16,323 Officials Referees: St Laurent, Sutherland. Linesmen: Heyer, Pancich.

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