May 23 Recap

Sharks Edge Blues, Take 3-2 Series Lead

         Last night’s game was a high-scoring back-and-forth affair at Scottrade Center. The Sharks came out on top and are now one win away from their first Stanley Cup Final in franchise history.

         The Sharks struck first when Marc-Edouard Vlasic put a slapshot past Jake Allen at 3:51. The Blues responded at 7:04 when Jaden Schwartz fired the puck into the net off a rebound to score his first goal in 14 games. The Blues took their first lead of the night when Troy Brouwer exhibited some nice hand-eye coordination as he batted the airborne puck into the net at 15:08.

         Scoring continued to come fast and furiously in the 2^nd. Not to be outdone by his former teammate, Joel Ward batted the puck into a wide open net on the power play to tie the game at 4:37. The Blues regained the lead when Robby Fabbri sent a blistering shot by Jones for a power play goal. Late in the period, Joe Pavelski tied the game at 3 when he scored a power play goal from the slot off a perfect pass from Joe Thornton at 18:33.

         The Sharks grabbed the lead again when Joe Pavelski scored with his league-leading 12^th goal of the playoffs. He skillfully deflected Brent Burns’s shot past Allen for his second goal of the game just 16 seconds into the 3^rd. For the rest of the period, the Sharks clamped down defensively and did a good job limiting the Blues scoring chances. They breathed a sigh of relief when Chris Tierney finally extended the lead with an empty net goal at 19:06. Not taking any chances, Joel Ward put in a second empty net goal to put the game out of reach for St. Louis.

         In this game, every goal was important. The Sharks finished their impressive night with Ward and Pavelski each scoring twice. Though down by a goal a couple times, San Jose always found a way to battle back. They ended up scoring four unanswered goals that ultimately decided the game. On Wednesday, the Sharks have a chance to advance to the Finals in front of their fans. If they make the Finals that night, I figure they have a very good chance of winning the Cup this year.