In San Jose, the St Louis Blues ended a five-game skid mark with a 2-1 win over the Sharks after penalties.
Jordan Binnington made 30 saves to get the win.
“We [had] a couple meetings with the coaches and the team and obviously things weren’t working well,” the Blues’ Vladimir Tarasenko said. “We thought that [there was] only one way to get back to winning games, we need to start with the simple plays, trust in our system we have and play the hockey that makes us successful. We’ve been known as a defensive team where everybody helps each other. I think today was a way better game and good step forward.”
Brayden Schenn and Tarasenko had strikes in the skills competition.
“We did it the right way,” Binnington said. “We played a very strong game. We were connected out there, supporting each other. Tracking in the D-zone was strong, breakouts were pretty smooth. We’ve just got to build off this and carry it into tomorrow.”
Ryan Donato scored the Sharks regulation goal.
“It’s definitely tough,” Donato said. “It was a very winnable game. Good teams in this league find a way to hold a lead and close it. Obviously there were some good things we could take out of it, but we have tomorrow, so we can’t get too down about it.”
Tyler Bozak scored a shorthanded goal for the Blues in regulation.
“I think I have been lucky enough to get a few on my birthday,” Bozak said. “It was nice to get a fortunate bounce like that. … ‘Cliffy’ made a great play to come out with me in the corner there and helped me pick up that puck and just throw it towards the net.”
Martin Jones made 33 saves in the loss.
“Part of the 60 minutes is our special teams as well, and I thought our PK was solid, but our power play didn’t get the job done,” Sharks head coach Bob Boughner said. “We had an opportunity to win it in overtime and we didn’t, and we gave up a shorty. It’s as simple as that.”
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