Eastern Conference finals Game 5: Lightning at Penguins, 8 p.m. ET, NBCSN (series tied 2-2) – Which Penguins team will show up – the one that looked totally overmatched in the first two periods Friday night, or the one that stormed back to score three goals and nearly complete an incredible comeback in the third period?
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Blues goalie Jake Allen was solid when tested early and certainly earned another start after Hitchcock made the switch from veteran Brian Elliott to spark his team.
After the Sharks power play gave the Blues fits earlier in this series, not only did the Blues effectively shut down the Sharks power play, they scored a back-breaking shorthanded goal when Kyle Brodziak converted on a 2-on-1 with Jaden Schwartz. “When you just got to step up and play with a higher level of emotion, you can’t just talk about it”, Hitchcock said. Martin Jones has allowed 34 goals on 432 shots faced and James Reimer has given up one goal on seven shots. But I also know we have one big, resilient group here. Jones robbed Fabbri with a spectacular stick save but Lehtera was right there to knock in the rebound for his second goal of the series. They’ll hope that Allen, who provided fantastic play through much of November and December, can re-energize an offensive attack that has appeared stagnant through the entire series.
Ken Hitchcock was impressed with the way Jake Allen battled in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final. He’s a real good player.
San Jose has controlled the play for much of this series, limiting St. Louis’ chances and taking advantage of miscues by the Blues to generate enough offence. Back-to-back San Jose shutouts did the trick.
As one National Hockey League assistant coach from an Eastern Conference team watching the game said: “Blues really amped up their energy, and the Sharks look like they are a step behind with everything execute-wise”.
St. Louis went 2-for-4 in Game 4 as they’ve now gone 3-for-13 in this series.
“I kinda think I know what I’m doing”.
Brouwer, who had totaled five goals in the Blues’ first 17 games, ended Sharks goalie Martin Jones’ two-game shutout streak with a one-timer from in front of the net just 6:14 into the game.
The Blues are also a team that is involved in one of the greatest rivalries in the National Hockey League.
DE-LICIOUS: It took a few days, but San Jose coach Peter DeBoer offered a public jab at Hitchcock, who on Monday complained about his counterpart “whining” to officials through the media.
If you thought the Sharks played pretty well in the first period despite being down 1-0, you’re not alone.
“So we’re fortunate to have the depth that we have at that position, and if we have to put somebody into the lineup, someone like Olli can help us win, we know that”.
But the power play that looked so lethal for most of the playoffs was not clicking this game. “That’s when the game breaks down, so you’ve got to stay patient and wait to get the chances for offense to score”. “We’ve had one or two of these games throughout the playoffs and we’ve always responded the right way”.
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St. Louis took a 2-0 lead with 9:49 to go in the first.
