Tarasenko might be the most risky player of them all, but he’s been silenced by the Vlasic and Braun tandem, who, in the last two months, have reasserted their status as one the premier shutdown defense pairs in the National Hockey League. They played a dominant game versus the Sharks when they tied the series in Game 4 on the road, and now they must do the same to stay alive in the Western Conference Final. It’s terrible hard to score right now when they’re on the ice at the same time at even strength as Sharks defensemen Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Justin Braun.
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“(Goal scores) feel that anxiety to try and score and help the team”, Hitchcock continued.
Should the Blues prevail this evening, the seventh and final game will be played Friday night back in St. Louis.
The aforementioned players will experience their offensive success in game six by focusing on defense first. Fixing this starts with foot movement and supporting the play, not just the puck, but extends to on ice communication as well.
Even with the return of Elliott, the Blues have their work cut out for them as the Sharks will be especially hungry to put the series away tonight. So far in the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs the Sharks have managed to create 12.1 high danger scoring chances per 60 minutes (HSCF60), while the Note have only averaged 10.4. They have not made it to the final since they were swept by the Boston Bruins in 1970.
This is why playing composed in their own end is such a big sticking point for the Blues this series.
San Jose has not had the best luck in the playoffs in the past few seasons. San Jose has always been awaiting a game like this one as they are 60 minutes away from advancing to the Stanley Cup final and with the game being played in San Jose it would be a flawless fitting for them to get there in front of their home fans who have endured some hardship over the years.
The Sharks are staying with the same lineup they’ve had throughout the series. Though the Blues are likely the most “beat up” team remaining in this year’s postseason none of that matters.
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Like the Penguins, the Blues lost a pivotal fifth game at home. “Obviously a tough thing to do against a team like this, but we had some good discussion on how to achieve that”. Nick Bonino added an empty-net goal for the final score of the night.
