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Sharks continue to roll in Game
3
Jones extends shutout streak in 3-0 win
Momentum in a powerful thing, and the San Jose
Sharks have all of it in their Western Conference Finals series with the St
Louis Blues right now. The series shifted to San Jose on Thursday night, and
the Sharks picked up where they left off in St Louis, by shutting out the Blues
for the 2nd consecutive game. The Sharks used a pair of goals from Tomas Hertl
and another from Joonas Donskoi to use a 3-0 decision to take a 2-1 series
lead.
After dominating the Blues 48 hours earlier in Game 2, the
Sharks had the chance to prove that win wasn't a fluke. St Louis tried to
disprove them early by throwing everything they had at San Jose in the first 10
minutes of the game.
San Jose weathered the storm, as goaltender
Martin Jones continued to calmly turn aside everything that came hi way. The
puck spent the majority of that first 10 minutes in the San Jose zone, an
effect of the Blues attempts to break out of their scoring slump. The Blues
out-shot San Jose 5-2 through the first half of the 1st period and looked to be
motivated to get the crucial first goal.
That wouldn't come and then
the Sharks planted a seed of doubt at 15:53 when Tomas Hertl pumped a shot past
Brian Elliott to crack the score sheet. The Blues started the sequence by
turning the puck over in the neutral zone, allowing Joe Thornton to break the
Blues blueline with a pass to Joe Pavelski on the right wing. Pavelski didn't
waste any time, spotting Hertl on the off wing and directing the puck to him as
two Blues defenders converged on the Sharks captain. With nothing by space
between him and Elliott, Hertl wound up from the top of the left circle and
unloaded a shot that caught the top right corner of the net.
Alex
Pietrangelo took a charging penalty with 8 seconds left in the period, after he
hit Hertl after lining up the Sharks forward behind the St Louis net.
That penalty was important because it allowed the Sharks to start the 2nd
period without any immediate pressure from the Blues, and kick things back into
gear. San Jose didn't score on the power play, but they set the tone in the
period. They began to put together more sustained pressure in the Blues zone.
Another turnover cost the Blues midway through the period when Joonas
Donskoi stabbed at a pass through the slot that deflected out of the zone right
to Logan Couture on the left wing. Couture and Patrick Marleau raced up ice on
a 2-on-2, but Donskoi hustled up as the trailer, taking a drop pass and ripping
it through Elliott's 5-hole. Paul Stastny was late to get back and cover
Donskoi, which allowed for the young winger to drive down the slot and pick his
shot before beating Elliott.
Couture was charged with high sticking with 5 minutes
left in the period, but Jones stood tall on the penalty kill. At that point the
Blues could have easily swayed the momentum in their favor with a goal, but
Jones wouldn't allow it.
Hertl made sure the Blues wouldn't generate
any momentum with his 2nd goal of the night at the 6:09 mark of the 3rd period.
Thornton setup the goal with a laser pass from the left corner to Hertl behind
the net. Rather than wind the puck around the end boards, Thornton had to
thread the pass to Hertl between the back of the goal and Blues centerman Jaden
Schwartz. Hertl slipped Schwartz before slipping to the front of the net and
depositing a shot that squirted through Elliott's 5-hold.
Blues head
coach Ken Hitchcock decided it wasn't worth letting Elliott endure another goal
after giving up 6 tallies in the last 2 games, so he pulled his goaltender in
favor of Jake Allen.
Allen would log 8 minutes in the net because
Hitchcock needed to pull his goaltender for an extra attacker if the Blues had
any chance of catching the Sharks. Even then San Jose denied any quality
scoring chances, keeping the puck away from Jones by pushing things to the
outside.
Hertl had one chance to score a 3rd goal, but his chance from
the Blues blueline was deflected by St Louis captain David Backes.
Pietrangelo took out some pent up aggression on Donskoi by laying an elbow to
the young Sharks head, drawing a trip to the penalty box with 45 seconds
remaining in regulation. It was an act of frustration, but it was also a bit of
head hunting, literally, late in a game that was long decided. The Sharks never
reacted, they just lined up for the faceoff and killed the remaining time on
the clock en route to a lead in the series.
Game Notes:
* The win was the 10th in the playoffs for the Sharks, which tied the
high-water mark they achieved in 2004.
* Joe Thornton recorded two
assists which resulted in his fourth multi-point game of the playoffs. He now
has seven points (2G,5A) in eight career playoff games against the Blues.
* Joonas Donskoi ranks 2nd among all rookies in scoring in the
playoffs (4G + 4A = 8pts).
* Roman Polak led all skaters with six
blocked shots and was tied for the team lead with six hits.
* Martin
Jones made 22 saves to earn his third shutout of the postseason and has stopped
69 of the 71 shots he has faced in the series (.971 save percentage).
* So much for the inability to win on home ice. San Jose is now 6-1 at home in
these playoffs and have outscored opponents 25-9 in those games.
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What did you
think of this story? Post your comments on the
Feeder Forums |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| STL |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| SJ |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
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| 1st period - 1, SJ,
Hertl 4 (Pavelski, Thornton), 15:53. |
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| 2nd period - 2, SJ,
Donskoi 4 (Couture), 11:44. |
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| 3rd period - 3, SJ,
Hertl 5 (Thornton, Pavelski), 6:09. |
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| 1st period - Couture, SJ
(high sticking), 15:01; Pietrangelo, STL (charging), 19:52. |
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| 3rd period -
Pietrangelo, STL (elbowing), 19:15. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| STL - Elliott |
14 |
11 |
| STL - Allen |
2 |
2 |
| SJ - Jones |
22 |
22 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| STL |
9 |
6 |
7 |
22 |
| SJ |
7 |
6 |
3 |
16 |
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| Referees: Charron,
McCauley. Linesmen: Devorski, Murray. |
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