One game later, St. Louis was letting the Sharks outskate them, shut down their own power play (an 0-for-6 showing) and frustrate them into taking bad penalties that re-ignited San Jose’s power play again. “But I know we’ve got more in the tank than what we’ve showed”.
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It wasn’t just Burns and Jones who stepped up their games last night, but the rest of their Sharks teammates joined in on the action as team teal played the ideal road game.
The 2nd was just as sluggish for the Blues as the first and it killed any chances we had throughout the period.
“Obviously we’re not happy about that but that was a reality”, he said.
Pavelski said scoring the first goal would give the Sharks a confidence boost, but he expects his team to play better. It doesn’t matter who takes them – veterans, rookies – because that’s a sign that the other team has a little bit of an advantage. Those are the ones you don’t like. The Sharks love to simply rotate the puck around the perimeter, quickly and crisply, with a player or two darting around in front of the net (often Joe Pavelski circling in the slot, or Patrick Marleau coming in from the side) until someone, somewhere, finds themselves in space.
His first goal, which gave the Sharks a 2-0 lead, finished some quick puck movement by the Sharks, including a ideal pass by Joe Pavelski. For the game, the Sharks out-shot the Blues 33-23. The penalties you don’t like at this time of year are reactionary penalties.
He went on to explain that the Sharks played well against good teams at home most of the year but served up stinkers against weaker teams.
“I’ve gotten a couple up higher”, he said, “but it’s kind of a mind-set that that’s something we need done, and I’m willing to go in there and stand there, and hopefully guys shoot right by me and into the net and we get to celebrate as a group”. Marleau fed the defenseman towards the left-hand circle, and Burns pulled a one-timer into the netting at the back post. The other came from center ice at the end of the second period. “They didn’t react to us and they took our shots and were unable to answer it”.
Backes also scored in overtime to beat the Stars in Game 2 of the second round, leaping high to avoid the puck and then slapping it home.
A key component to this series was going to be special teams and faceoffs. They were 0 for 3 in the opener and coach Pete DeBoer complained about the lack of calls during the day between games.
The Blues had some excellent chances to make it a game, including point-blank shots for Jaden Schwartz and Troy Brouwer. It wasn’t until the final minute of the power play that the Blues were able to direct any shots at Martin Jones. To make matters worse, he hit the post not once, but twice, in the third period as he attempted to make amends for his mistakes and bring the Blues back into the game. But the Sharks aggressive kill stymied the Blues at every turn and the game ended with a whimper.
San Jose scored just one goal in the opening game.
The Sharks are now 9-5 in the playoffs, with a 4-4 record away from home and a 5-1 mark at home.
While few in the white sweaters doubted Burns and Jones would bounce back, it was great to see them pave the way for a much-needed San Jose victory.
Now the Sharks are going home where they are 5-1 in the playoffs. But I liked our five-on-five game.
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San Jose did what they’ve done all season long by responding after a tough outing.
