My Thoughts (May 16)

Western Conference Finals Game 1

San Jose Sharks @ St. Louis Blues

         The western conference finals got underway last night in St. Louis. The series is expected to be low scoring yet fast and exciting. While both teams are solid defensively, they also have effective offence. San Jose’s offensive approach is quick while the Blues offence is strategic. Here’s how they matched up last night:

         The game was both tight and quick, with neither team getting much room to work with. The goalies were practically unbeatable until the later stages of the 1^st period. David Backes opened the scoring when he deflected Kevin Shattenkirk’s shot past Martin Jones on the power play at 15:04. The Sharks responded quickly with a deflection goal of their own at 15:38. Brent Burns shot a puck that deflected off Joe Pavelski’s stick then ricocheted off the skate of Tomas Hertl into the net.

         Though tied at the beginning of the 2^nd, San Jose was outplaying St. Louis. It was Blues goaltender Brian Elliot that kept the game even until Jori Lehtera broke the tie at 9:15 on the Blues second shot of the period. He picked up a loose puck at center ice before blasting a shot that went in off the elbow of Jones. Though outplayed and outshot, the Blues held a lead heading into the 3^rd.

         Elliot continued to be sharp in the 3^rd, as he stopped all 8 shots against him. It seems the Blues concentrated their efforts on defending in the 3^rd. San Jose pulled the goalie with 3 minutes left in the hopes of scoring the tying goal. The attempt to score proved unsuccessful, as the Blues held on to win game 1.