St. Louis 3, San Jose 1
When: 7:30 PM ET, Saturday, April 21, 2012
Where: Scottrade Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Referees:
Dan O'Halloran, Tom Kowal
Linesmen:
Steve Miller, David Brisebois
Attendance:
19490
By SportsDirect Inc.
BLUES 3, SHARKS 1: Jamie Langenbrunner and David Perron scored 45 seconds apart midway through the third period as St. Louis rallied past San Jose to win the Western Conference quarterfinal series in five games.
Andy McDonald added an empty-net goal, defenseman Alex Pietrangelo notched two assists and Brian Elliott made 26 saves for the Blues, who recorded their first playoff series victory since topping Chicago in the 2002 conference quarterfinals.
T.J. Oshie nearly tied the contest at 1-1 midway through the third, but his shot rang off the crossbar. It wasn't long after that St. Louis struck twice to move ahead.
Former Shark Scott Nichol took an innocent wrist shot from above the right faceoff circle that handcuffed Antti Niemi. As the puck bounced in front of the crease, Langenbrunner got position on defenseman Justin Braun and punched it in at 11:16 to forge a tie.
Just as the raucous crowd at Scottrade Center was beginning to settle down, Perron gave the Blues their first lead of the night. While skating across the slot, the 23-year-old deflected Pietrangelo's wrister from the right point past Niemi for his first goal of the postseason.
McDonald sealed the win with 39 seconds remaining as he backhanded the puck into a vacant net from center ice for his fourth of the series.
After a scoreless first period that saw the Sharks record only three shots on goal, the team made good on its 13th shot of the second session to take a 1-0 lead.
Daniel Winnik chased down a loose puck behind the Blues' net and skated back out near the right post before making a pass across the doorstep. Captain Joe Thornton controlled the puck with his skate, glided to his left and fired it past Elliott for his second tally of the series.
Niemi stopped 24 shots for the Sharks, who have lost all five series in which they have trailed 3-1.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Winnik's assist on Thornton's goal was his first point in 12 career playoff games. ... Pietrangelo led all players in both time on ice (25 minutes, 24 seconds) and shots on goal (six). Thornton played a team-high 23:50 for San Jose. ... Michal Handzus, who was playing in just his second game of the series, led the Sharks with four shots.
Top Game Performances
| San Jose |
|
St. Louis |
|
Joe Thornton 1 |
Points |
Alex Pietrangelo 2 |
|
Joe Thornton 1 |
Goals |
Jamie Langenbrunner 1 |
|
Torrey Mitchell 1 |
Assists |
Alex Pietrangelo 2 |
|
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Antti Niemi .923 |
Save Percentage |
Brian Elliott .963 |
|
Antti Niemi 24 |
Saves |
Brian Elliott 26 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| San Jose
|
27 |
1 |
0-2 |
2-2 |
9 |
37 |
| St. Louis
|
27 |
3 |
0-2 |
2-2 |
9 |
35 |
Upcoming Games
-
St. Louis will play their next game on the road against San Jose. The Blues have a W/L % of .604 after a win and .588 after a loss.
-
San Jose will play their next game at home against St. Louis. The Sharks have a W/L % of .548 after a win and .500 after a loss.
For more information, contact us