Let’s take a look at tonight’s top picks, plays and predictions.
Blues vs Sharks
ML: +125 / -138
O/U: 5
Here are tonight’s starting goaltenders, courtesy of LeftWingLock.
A winnable Game 5 eluded the St. Louis Blues’ grasp on home ice and they now have to venture into the Shark Tank if they want to survive.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic finally found the back of the net in the first period for his first goal of the postseason. Joe Thornton won a faceoff draw in the offensive zone, which Joe Pavelski slid to Vlasic at the point. Vlasic fired a shot at the net from long distance. It found a corner. Jake Allen completely misread the shot and it whizzed right past his outstretched glove. Not a great start for the Blues netminder.
It would not take long for the Blues to tie things up. David Backes and Jaden Schwartz staple-gunned Chris Tierney and Roman Polak to the boards to win a puck battle deep in the San Jose zone. Patrik Berglund collected the puck, skated to open space and shot. The puck hit off Polak in front of the net and Schwartz banged home the rebound.
Later in the first, Troy Brouwer did his best Aledmys Diaz impression by batting a puck out of the air from a ways out to give the Blues the lead. Brouwer now has eight goals this postseason.
https://twitter.com/myregularface/status/734907534096670722
The lead would only hold until five minutes into the second, however. Joel Ward one-upped Brouwer’s goal with a baseball swing of his own reminiscent of Josh Reddick (Google Maps tells me Oakland is the closest team to San Jose, so that’s what I’m going with). Ward’s powerplay goal evened things up at two.
St. Louis added their own powerplay goal as the red-hot Robby Fabbri tallied his fourth goal of the postseason. Fabbri blasted home a one-time slapshot from the high slot. I don’t know the exact velocity, but just from the windup and sheer force, it has to be one of the most blistering shots this series.
With time winding down in the second period, Joe Pavelski scored a goal on the man advantage to once again tie the score. The Thornton-Pavelski connection once again generated a high-danger chance and Pavelski roofed it over the glove of Allen. Allen had overcommitted to the shot, dropping down and sliding across the crease.
Through two periods, Allen had let in three goals on 18 shots. Martin Jones had allowed three on 14.
Just 16 seconds into the third period, the Sharks had their game-winner. Pavelski won a faceoff draw in the Blues’ zone and Thornton, Brent Burns and Tomas Hertl went to work. After cycling and playing a quick game of keep-away, Burns wristed a shot to the net where Pavelski was waiting to deflect it in.
The Blues would manage only seven shots on goal in the third period. With the net empty, Alex Pietrangelo had his pocket picked and Chris Tierney buried an empty netter. Joel Ward would grab another as well.
Final score: Sharks 6, Blues 3, series 3-2 heading back to Cali.
Jake Allen’s performance was a major letdown. So much so that Ken Hitchcock has confirmed that Brian Elliott will be the starter again tonight for the Blues. Perhaps a few days off will do Elliott some good. Allen was far from a shutdown goaltender in his two performances, in which he allowed seven goals.
When the Blues were able to unload on the Sharks in Game 4, they managed to hold the San Jose powerplay at bay. The Sharks were 0-for-5. They managed to get all their momentum back with two powerplay goals in the second period though. The Blues are 3-for7 in the last two games on the man advantage, but their kill has to be flawless, which is easier said than done.
Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski are two major reasons why. Without even factoring in the plethora of other special teams threats this team has like Logan Couture, Tomas Hertl, Joel Ward and Brent Burns, these two have been imposing their will on the Blues all series. Pavelski has eight points this series, points in all five games. Thornton has six, all of them coming the last three games.
In the past two series, the Blues have been up 3-2 after five games. Needless to say, this game is crucial. The SAP Center is going to be as raucous as it has ever been, and the Blues need to do everything in their power to strike first. If they can score first and get through the first 20 minutes with the lead, they have a great shot at winning the game.
If they have to play catch-up? No way. They have not been able to get high-danger chances consistently enough for that.
Prediction: Take the Sharks to end the series tonight and head to their first ever Stanley Cup tonight. Play the over, which has hit in the last two games.
