The St. Louis Blues’ season ended Wednesday night in defeat as the San Jose Sharks jumped out to an early advantage and didn’t yield despite a late St. Louis surge in a 5-2 win to claim the Western Conference Championship. The first-round pick the Sharks sent to Boston for Jones will now be either the No. 29 or No. 30 overall pick depending on whether or not the Sharks raise the Cup, far from where many predicted the Sharks would be picking in the first round later this summer.
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They have been teammates since 2005. Just 27 years old, and considering the demand for what he does, he’ll be very expensive to keep. There were indications two years ago, denied by general manager Doug Wilson, that the front office was looking to move one of the players.
Nieto Skates In Full Practice: Forward Matt Nieto skated with the Sharks at practice for the first time since he suffered an upper-body injury in Game 6 of the second round on Friday.
“I don’t think that’s changed over the last 10 years”, he said.
“It’s a great night for those guys”. And given that Thornton and Marleau have both overcome adversity before, they can help guide the team should times get tough as they attempt to win four final games this year. For me, that’s the biggest thing.
Why do you think Tarasenko struggled to get anything going in the series besides the last few minutes? “Just trying to seize the moment”.
In addition to his 2010 gold medal, Thornton earned the top prize with Team Canada at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics and the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. The victory sends the Sharks through to the Stanley Cup Finals where they now await the victor of the Pittsburgh/Tampa Bay Lightning series. The Sharks will appear in their first Stanley Cup final in franchise history.
Thornton assisted on Pavelski’s goal to set the tone just 3:57 into the game.
In the first meeeting, Patrick Marleau registered his 1,000th point and the Sharks won their fifth game on what became a 6-0 trip. Joel Ward’s scored two goals, including a flawless pass that he received from Logan Couture that proved to be the series-clinching goal. That gives Marleau 12 points in the postseason.
“Selecting the second group of players was more hard than anticipated”, North America general manager Peter Chiarelli said. Along with ranking 1st on the Sharks in assists and points, Thornton finished 2nd in the National Hockey League in assists, T-4th in points, and 5th in power-play points (29). After all, both teams were noted playoff underachievers as the St. Louis Blues, entering the series, had never won the Western Conference either. “We know we’ve got one more step to take to really let loose”. Thornton has 18 points, including 15 assists, in 18 games as the Sharks advanced to the Stanley Cup final. Ward also said he didn’t really want any of his goals to be the biggest in franchise history.
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“He’ll kill me for telling you this story”, Backes said, taking a deep breath. Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton have incredible chemistry on the ice and Pavelski’s ability to tip pucks into the back of the net and find soft spots in the opponent’s defensive zone is uncanny.
