ST. LOUIS: San Jose captain Joe Pavelski scored the tying and go-ahead goals to lift the Sharks to a 6-3 win at St. Louis on Monday, giving them a 3-2 lead in the NHL Western Conference finals.
The Sharks host Game 7 on Wednesday and are in a prime position to advance to the Stanley Cup decider.
“His ability to get his stick on pucks in front of the net from different angles is as good as anybody I’ve ever seen,” coach Peter DeBoer said. “His biggest asset is he works at it.”
With the Sharks trailing by a goal, Pavelski tied the game late in the second period and then scored the go-ahead goal in the opening minute of the third.
“You play a good game like that, you want to ride that,” Pavelski said. “Everyone’s played a key role so far and it’s going to have to continue.”
Joel Ward also scored twice, including one of two empty-netters, in the final minute for San Jose, while Joe Thornton had three assists.
Pavelski leads all players in the playoffs with 12 goals and has three two-goal games, one in each series. The Sharks’ captain added an assist and is tied with teammate Logan Couture for the postseason points lead, each with a franchise-record 21 points.
Rookie Robby Fabbri scored and David Backes had an assist for St. Louis. Both were questionable coming off injuries in Game 4.
But star forward Vladimir Tarasenko was silent again. Tarasenko was minus-2 with one shot and is scoreless in the series after getting seven goals and 13 points in the first two rounds.
“He’s struggled this series,” Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said. “He hasn’t gotten the looks that he normally gets. But he’s one shift away from breaking it open.”
The Blues are just 4-6 at home in the postseason, and failed to hold leads of 2-1 and 3-2 in Game 5. They’re 6-3 on the road and need another win to bring the series home for Game 7.
“We did it in Game 4,” Backes said. “Now, we’ve got to go in there and do it again.”
The Sharks were 2 for 3 on the power play after previously being 2 for 15 in the series.
The Sharks scored first on Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s first goal of the postseason from the point at 3:51 of the first period.
St. Louis’ Jaden Schwartz snapped a 13-game goal drought to tie it on a rebound at 7:04 of the first.
Troy Brouwer batted in a rebound from midair for St. Louis and Ward scored a similar goal for San Jose with his first of the game.
Brouwer leads St. Louis with eight goals in 19 games this postseason after totaling seven in his first 78 playoff games.
Pavelski was left alone in the slot on a power play at 18:33 of the second and beat Jake Allen to tie it at 3-3. He redirected Brent Burns’ drive from the point 16 seconds into the third to put the Sharks in front to stay.
San Jose goalie Martin Jones allowed three goals on the Blues’ first 13 shots, but stopped all seven shots in the third period.
“He’s a great goalie,” defenseman Roman Polak said. “He’s mentally strong. No matter what happened in the first or second, it doesn’t matter.”
Blues goalie Jake Allen made 21 saves in his second straight start. Hitchcock said he hadn’t decided whether Allen or Brian Elliott would start in Game 6.
The Sharks host Game 7 on Wednesday and are in a prime position to advance to the Stanley Cup decider.
“His ability to get his stick on pucks in front of the net from different angles is as good as anybody I’ve ever seen,” coach Peter DeBoer said. “His biggest asset is he works at it.”
With the Sharks trailing by a goal, Pavelski tied the game late in the second period and then scored the go-ahead goal in the opening minute of the third.
“You play a good game like that, you want to ride that,” Pavelski said. “Everyone’s played a key role so far and it’s going to have to continue.”
Joel Ward also scored twice, including one of two empty-netters, in the final minute for San Jose, while Joe Thornton had three assists.
Pavelski leads all players in the playoffs with 12 goals and has three two-goal games, one in each series. The Sharks’ captain added an assist and is tied with teammate Logan Couture for the postseason points lead, each with a franchise-record 21 points.
Rookie Robby Fabbri scored and David Backes had an assist for St. Louis. Both were questionable coming off injuries in Game 4.
But star forward Vladimir Tarasenko was silent again. Tarasenko was minus-2 with one shot and is scoreless in the series after getting seven goals and 13 points in the first two rounds.
“He’s struggled this series,” Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said. “He hasn’t gotten the looks that he normally gets. But he’s one shift away from breaking it open.”
The Blues are just 4-6 at home in the postseason, and failed to hold leads of 2-1 and 3-2 in Game 5. They’re 6-3 on the road and need another win to bring the series home for Game 7.
“We did it in Game 4,” Backes said. “Now, we’ve got to go in there and do it again.”
The Sharks were 2 for 3 on the power play after previously being 2 for 15 in the series.
The Sharks scored first on Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s first goal of the postseason from the point at 3:51 of the first period.
St. Louis’ Jaden Schwartz snapped a 13-game goal drought to tie it on a rebound at 7:04 of the first.
Troy Brouwer batted in a rebound from midair for St. Louis and Ward scored a similar goal for San Jose with his first of the game.
Brouwer leads St. Louis with eight goals in 19 games this postseason after totaling seven in his first 78 playoff games.
Pavelski was left alone in the slot on a power play at 18:33 of the second and beat Jake Allen to tie it at 3-3. He redirected Brent Burns’ drive from the point 16 seconds into the third to put the Sharks in front to stay.
San Jose goalie Martin Jones allowed three goals on the Blues’ first 13 shots, but stopped all seven shots in the third period.
“He’s a great goalie,” defenseman Roman Polak said. “He’s mentally strong. No matter what happened in the first or second, it doesn’t matter.”
Blues goalie Jake Allen made 21 saves in his second straight start. Hitchcock said he hadn’t decided whether Allen or Brian Elliott would start in Game 6.
