|
|
Blues hammer Sharks
again
SJ gives up 14 goals in 2 games to St
Louis
There are beat downs, and then there's the Sharks
taking their lumps against the St Louis Blues. Facing the Blues five days after
a 7-2 thumping at SAP Center last Saturday night, the Sharks squared off
against the Blues in St Louis. The outcome was not good. In fact, it was
painfully clear that the Blues have the Sharks number. St Louis annihilated the
Sharks by the same 7-2 score on a night that exposed man yof the same holes
that have been nagging San Jose most of the season.
Special
congratulations go to Sharks head coach Todd McLellan, who celebrated his 500th
career NHL game coached by having his teeth kicked in. The only thing that
could have made the loss more painful is if Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock had
sat on McLellan.
Dispatching the heavy jokes, Hitchcock's heavies came
in the form of an offense that scored at will against a Sharks team that seemed
resolved to lose after their attempts to pull within a 3-2 deficit were
answered with a pair of goals in the 2nd period. It was lights out from there.
San Jose didn't help themselves early, by putting the league's best
power play on the ice after John Scott was sent off for high sticking Barret
Jackman. The Sharks had a chance to turn the tables on the Blues when Logan
Couture and Tommy Wingels skated up ice on a 2-on-1 chance. Couture's shot
bounced off Blues netminder Brian Elliott's pad back the other way, creating a
4-on-2 chance for the Blues.
Alexander Steen did what Couture could
not, putting the puck past the opposing goaltender after Vladimir Tarasenko
returned a touch pass on the tail end of the Blues break.
St Louis
turned to their defense to make it 2-0 less than 5 minutes later. Jay
Bouwmeester put a shot past Antti Niemi with a shot from the left point as
Jaden Scwartz parked himself in front of the Sharks netminder. Couture's
passive attempt at clearing out Schwartz did more to screen Niemi's view than
actually move the Blues forward.
Joe Pavelski turned a bad situation
into a disaster by taking a double minor for high sticking Tarasenko. Couture
helped right the ship a bit by scoring a short-handed goal just as the first
penalty was expiring. Couture carried the puck up the left wing, and flipped it
on net as he changed direction by turning toward the slot. Elliott may have
tried to track Couture's path and ended up opening up the left side of the net.
The Sharks looked as if they were going to escape without any further
damage, but Paul Stastny converted on the power play by snapping a T.J. Oshie
feed past Niemi from the bottom of the left circle.
Melker Karlsson
continued his hot hand, scoring his 4th goal in as many games 32 seconds into
the 2nd period. Elliott mishandled the puck after San Jose forced it on net.
Karlsson batted the loose puck form the right side for his 5th tally of the
season to cut the Blues lead to a single goal.
Any illusions of a
comeback were promptly and thoroughly dispatched by St Louis.
Jori Lehtera and Oshie scored to push the Blues lead
to 5-2 to close out the 2nd period.
Patrick Berglund pushed the Blues
lead to 6-2 at 9:05 of the 3rd period on a wrap-around chance that was
simplified by the fact that Couture, Tomas Hertl and Brent Burns kept their
skates static and literally watched Berglund skate around the back of the net
and tuck the puck inside the right post for his 5th goal of the season.
David Backes got in on the scoring to rub a little more salt into the
Sharks gaping wound. Backes snapped a one timer from between the circles after
Schwartz fed him the puck from the right corner. The Sharks were guilty of
chasing Schwartz, leaving Backes unattended for the easy snipe.
 |
|
| What did you think of
this article? Post your comments on the Feeder Forums |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
What did you
think of this story? Post your comments on the
Feeder Forums |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
| STL |
3 |
2 |
2 |
7 |
|
|
| 1st period - 1, STL,
Steen 11 (Tarasenko, Schwartz), 10:38, (pp). 2, STL, Bowmeester 2 (Tarasenko,
Lehtera), 15:06. 3, SJ, Couture 15 (Dillon), 18:27, (sh). 4, STL, Stastny 9
(Oshie, Shattenkirk), 19:06, (pp). |
|
|
| 2nd period - 5, SJ,
Karlsson 5 (Couture, Burns), 0:32. 6, STL, Lehtera 9 (Schwartz), 8:52. 7, STL,
Oshie 11 (Steen, Backes), 13:20. |
|
|
| 3rd period - 8, STL,
Berglund 5 (Stastny), 9:05. 9, STL, Backes 14 (Schwartz, Pietrangelo),
11:59. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1st period - Scott, SJ
(high sticking), 9:29; , SJ (high sticking - double minor), 16:26. |
|
|
| 2nd period - Jaskin, STL
(high sticking), 6:15. |
|
|
| 3rd period - Scott, SJ
(interference), 13:22; Scott, SJ (unsportsmanlike conduct), 19:15; Reaves, STL
(unsportsmanlike conduct), 19:15; Reaves, STL (tripping), 19:15. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Niemi |
21 |
16 |
| SJ - Stalock |
7 |
5 |
| STL - Elliott |
26 |
24 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
7 |
13 |
6 |
26 |
| STL |
12 |
11 |
5 |
28 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Referees: Furlatt,
Skilliter . Linesmen: Gibbs, Nowak. |
|
|
|
|
|
