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WCF Game 5: Sharks pushed to
the brink
Home ice provides no advantage for SJ in
5-0 loss
The Sharks returned home with a chance to regain
the lead in their Western Conference Finals series with the St Louis Blues, and
flat our whiffed. Early mistakes and mounting injuries allowed the Blues to
smack the Sharks with a 5-0 shutout in the Sharks barn. By virtue of the loss,
the Sharks now sit one loss from elimination and a flurry of injuries in the
game make their long term outlook questionable.
San Jose missed on
early chances, then made some back breaking error, which led to three Blues
goals. The most glaring injury is Erik Karlsson's groin, which seemed broken
from the opening puck drop. Karlsson was a shell of himself, unable to generate
the speed required to stop opposing defenders. The decision to even include him
in the lineup was suspect given his performance in Game 4 last Friday.
Karlsson attempted to clear the Sharks zone and move the puck up the left wing
boards, a weak attempt was intercepted by Oskar Sunqvist. Karlsson then made
the mistake of screening Martin Jones, allowing Sundqvist to rip a shot that
alluded the Sharks netminder for a 1-0 Blues lead.
San Jose dominated
the opening 20 minutes, out-shooting the Blues 11-4, but the inability to
capitalize on the momentum was magnified when the Sharks allowed a power play
off a Jay Bouwmeester delay of game penalty to go wasted. Special teams play
has been one of the most disappointing aspects of the Sharks game, and it cost
them the last two games.
Evander Kane played arguably his best game of
the series, but finding the back of the net still eludes him. That almost
changed in the first 10 seconds of the game when he took a drop pass from Tomas
Hertl and ripped a shot that caught the crossbar. The Sharks forward also
missed on a deflection later that hit the post as he sat at the top of the
crease.
That would be the way things went for San Jose in Game 5. They
controlled the tempo early, then folded after the ice tilted. Jones simplified
things for the Blues when he redirected a shot to an area that he thought was
safely unoccupied. Jones missed the fact that Jaden Schwartz was lurking on the
right side of the net, and served it up the Blues forward on a silver platter.
All Schwartz had to do was tap the gift into a wide open net for the 2-0 lead,
just 3 minutes into the 2nd period.
Injuries started to mount when
Ivan Barbashev caught Hertl with a shoulder to the Shark winger's head. Hertl
spun to the ice clutching his head, but all four on-ice officials turned a
blind eye to the hit. Hertl would miss most of the 3rd period as he was
assessed for a concussion.
Karlsson's injury was further magnified at
6:53 of the period when Vladimir Tarasenko raced past Karlsson, forcing Brent
Burns to trip the Blues on a breakaway chance. Tarasenko was awarded a penalty
shot, which he promptly buried for the 3-0 lead.
Joonas Donskoi was called for a high sticking double
minor at 10:43, to put the Sharks in a hole, but Tyler Bozak was called for
hooking 30 seconds into the Blues 4 minute power play. That helped the Sharks
avoid further damage, but it stole valuable minutes as they tried to chip away
at the Blues three goal lead.
The Sharks locker room turned into an
infirmary. Joe Pavelski likely aggravated his concussion issues with Alex
Pietrangelo hit him up high as he was standing in front of the penalty box
glass. Once again, a head shot went unpenalized, adding further confusion to
what the player safety objectives of the league are.
Donskoi was
caught by friendly fire, when Justin Braun tried lifting a puck from his end
line, hitting Donskoi in the face. The Sharks forward left the ice with a face
fool of blood, but he would return in the 3rd period.
Referees Steve
Kozari and Kelly Sutherland decided that this would not follow suit on stowing
their whistles in a playoff game, as is typically the norm in the playoffs. Not
only did they bust out their whistles, but they called simultaneous penalties
on the Sharks. They sent Micheal Haley and Barclay Goodrow off for interference
and roughing respectively 1:55 into the 3rd period, ensuring that the Sharks
would not mount any form of a comeback.
Schwartz converted on the
ensuing 5-on-3 when he swatted at a loose puck in front of Jones, chipping it
over the Sharks goaltender for the 4-0 lead.
Haley was destined to
take matters into his own hands given the score and Kozari and Sutherland's
lack of action when it came to head shots. He went after Peitrangelo, who
managed to escape scott free, with Haley being tossed for unsportsmanlike
conduct and a 10 minute misconduct.
Schwartz capped the hat trick with
a one time chance from the right side at 16:02, snapping a Tarasenko feed that
traversed through the crease from the left point.
Kane was sent to the
showers after he was called for goaltender interference, slashing and a 10
minute misconduct. By the time the smoke cleared, the Sharks only had 11
players on the bench to finish the game.
Now the question is, who is
going to be physically ready to play in Game 6? Hertl and Pavelski are likely
dealing with concussion issues and Karlsson's groin is clearly an issue.
Game Notes:
* The game marked the 26th time the Sharks have been
shutout in the playoffs, and third time this playoff season. It was the 8th
time they were shutout on home ice.
* The margin of defeat was the
largest in the playoffs when shutout. The previous high was a 4-0 loss to the
Kings in 2014.
* Jaden Schwartz hat trick was the 7th time that has
occurred in the playoffs against the Sharks, and 2nd time this playoff season.
* Vladimir Tarasenko's penalty shot goal was the 2nd allowed in the
playoffs in the Sharks history. The only other occurrence came in 2002, when
Mike Johnson scored for the Phoenix Coyotes.
* Five Shark forwards did
not register a shot on goal. No player had more than 3 shots on goal in the
game for San Jose. The defense accounted for 9 of the Sharks 21 shots.
* Martin Jones goals against average has ballooned to 2.96, which ranks 15th in
the playoffs. His save percentage sits at a mediocre .902, which ranks 17 in
the playoffs.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| STL |
1 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
| SJ |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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| 1st period - 1, STL,
Sundqvist 4 (unassisted), 5:50. |
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| 2nd period - 2, STL,
Schwartz 10 (unassisted), 3:05. 3, STL, Tarasenko (penalty shot), 6:53. |
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| 3rd period - 4, STL,
Schwartz 11 (Perron, Terasenko), 2:19, (pp). 5. STL, Schwartz 12 (Tarasenko,
Schenn), 16:02. |
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| 1st period -
Bouwmeester, STL (delay of game - puck over glass), 15:18. |
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| 2nd period - Burns, SJ
(tripping - penalty shot), 6:53; Donskoi, SJ (high stick - double minor),
10:43; Bozak, STL (hooking), 11:23. |
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| 3rd period - Goodrow, SJ
(roughing), 1:55; Haley, SJ (interference), 1:55; Haley, SJ (unsportsmanlike
conduct), 7:13; Haley, SJ (10 min misconduct), 7:13; Meier, SJ (tripping),
8:35; Edmundson, STL (slashing), 13:12; Kane, SJ (goaltender interference),
17:13; ; Kane, SJ (slashing), 17:13; Kane, SJ (10 min misconduct), 17:13. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| STL - Binnington |
21 |
21 |
| SJ - Jones |
40 |
35 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| STL |
4 |
20 |
16 |
40 |
| SJ |
11 |
6 |
4 |
21 |
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| Referees: Kozari,
Sutherland. Linesmen: Knorr, Racicot. |
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