SHARKS 3, PREDATORS 2 (at San Jose, Calif.) – Joe Pavelski scored the tiebreaking goal with 2:40 left in regulation and Martin Jones stopped 36 shots to lead San Jose past Nashville.
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Thornton slid a cross-ice pass to Matt Nieto, whose initial shot was stopped by Predators goalie Pekka Rinne. The Sharks take a commanding 2-0 lead in their second-round playoff series.
David Backes scored the victor halfway through overtime to lift the St. Louis Blues to a 4-3 win over the Dallas Stars in game two of their second round National Hockey League playoff series.
St. Louis Blues’ defenseman Joel Edmundson (No. 6) checks Dallas Stars’ center Radek Faksa (No. 12) and right-wing Ales Hemsky (No. 83) during the third period in Game One of the second round of their Stanley Cup playoffs at the American Airlines Center Friday. If the Blues can fix some leaks in their game, clear their heads, and Vladimir Tarasenko can get back to the art of shredding defenses… we should be just fine.
Stars goaltender Antti Niemi stopped 19 of 20 shots in relief of starter Kari Lehtonen, who was pulled after one period.
The Captain, Jamie Benn, who scored off a rebound from Kris Russell to tie the game with under five minutes left to go in the third.
Alex Goligoski gave the Stars a 1-0 lead just 3:26 into the game. “We did everything we wanted to do, we played a heck of a period and then we played the score, and that’s the wrong thing you can do against Dallas; they’re too good”. They live to claw back from a goal down. Game 4 will also be there Thursday before the series returns to Dallas for Game 5 on Saturday. “And if he didn’t get it up I could turn around and find a rebound”, said Backes, who entered these playoffs without ever having scored a playoff OT victor, and now has two.
The Stars knew the much larger Blues would come out and be physical against them in Game 1 of the teams’ second-round Western Conference playoff series.
“I’ve been in the league since ’95”, said Blues coach Ken Hitchcock, “and I’ve only coached two players who are willing to absorb the shot. The guys were battling their butts off and Moose (Brian Elliott) made some big saves”.
While the Blues have been resilient enough this season that no game besides an elimination contest can really be considered a “must-win”, tying the series will be extremely important in Game 2.
Benn knocked a loose puck past Elliott to tie the game at 3-all late in the third period, when Cody Eakin got his third assist of the game.
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That the Blues might come out with a bur under the collective saddle was no surprise after their tepid Game 1 offering. They’re a deeper and better defensive team, advantages that will play a role as the series stretches on. On top of that they have also scored a power-play goal in each of the three games at Scottrade this year (3/12, 25%). He played 4:47 on a Blues penalty kill that was a flawless 4-for-4 against a power play that was fourth in the National Hockey League this season. Dallas has one of the best power plays in the league and with their high-scoring offense, giving them any extra chances is asking for trouble. “When they seem to be a little out of sync, we start jumping and try to keep that chaos moving until we can get the puck down the ice and get the next set of (PK guys) out there”. Maatta left the game and never returned.
