May 25 Recap

Sharks Silence Blues, Advance to Stanley Cup Final

         Last night, the San Jose Sharks eliminated the St. Louis from the Western Conference Finals in 6 games to reach the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in their 25-year history. Joel Ward scored 2 goals and Logan Couture added an empty netter to cap off a 5-2 win at the electric SAP Center.

         The Sharks got on the board early when Joe Pavelski stuffed the puck into the net on a wrap around at 3:57. While the Sharks had most of the 1^st period’s scoring chances, both teams would enter the intermission with San Jose up 1-0. Joel Ward added to the lead when he tipped Brent Burns’s shot past Brian Elliot at 5:02 of the 2^nd.

         It appeared as if the Sharks would go up by a couple more goals when Scottie Upshall took a double minor high-sticking penalty at 6:08. The Blues were able to kill off the long penalty and stay in the game. As he saw the ice begin to tilt in the Blues favor, Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer wisely took his timeout near the end of the period to settle his players down. His team would enter the 3^rd period still up by 2.

         Joel Ward scored again 3:01 into the 3^rd when he redirected Logan Couture’s pass straight into the net behind Elliot. Joonas Donskoi made it 4-0 on a perfectly placed shot off a pass from Couture at 8:11. The Blues would fight back, however, as Vladimir Tarasenko scored from the slot to make it 4-1 at 11:39. There was still plenty of time for the newly reinvigorated Blues to catch up.

         Tarasenko scored again at 16:25 from an impossible angle to make things interesting. Unfortunately, it was too late for the Blues. Logan Couture acquired his 3^rd point of the night when he scored into the empty net with 20 seconds to go. The Blues fought valiantly throughout the series, but came up short of their goal to reach the Stanley Cup Final.

         The Sharks will face either the Tampa Bay Lightning or Pittsburgh Penguins in the Finals. That will be determined tonight in game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. If the Lightning advance, they will be in the Finals for the 2^nd year in a row, and we will get the first Sunbelt Stanley Cup Final in NHL history. If the Penguins advance, coach Mike Sullivan will be pitted against the team he began his NHL career with in 1991. Regardless of who wins tonight, the Stanley Cup Final will begin Monday either in Pittsburgh or San Jose.