Blues even series with Sharks

LIVERMORE, Calif. – The San Jose Sharks and St. Louis Blues met for the second time in three nights Saturday, for Game 2 of their Western Conference Quarter Finals playoff series.
The first period started rather ominously for San Jose, when a shot from Blues forward Vladimir Sobotka slipped through Sharks goalie Antti Niemi’s left side and landed behind him. Sharks Defenseman Mark Edward Vlasic, who was first to the swirling puck, misplayed the clearing attempt and watched as the puck went into his own net.
San Jose responded well to the early adversity and appeared to be on the verge of a tying goal, but the remaining 18:29 of the first period ticked off with the Sharks failing to score.
The second period was also marked early when St. Louis lost the services of their starting goaltender Jaroslav Halak at the 1:07 mark. Halak was forced from the game after a collision with Blue’s defenseman, Barrett Jackman. Jackman collided with his goaltender as he extended himself and slid along the ice in an attempt to block a Martin Havlat scoring chance. Havlat had also crashed the net and was alone on the doorstep after receiving a cross ice feed from Logan Couture. As several players crashed the net, Jackman left his feet, unable to stop, and slammed hard into Halak.
Halak did not appear to be seriously injured and got back to his skates after a short time. With encouragement from the trainers, Halak eventually came to the bench prior to play resuming and was replaced by the Blue’s backup goaltender for this game, Brian Elliot. Prior to leaving, Halak had stopped all 12 San Jose shots he faced.
The switch of goaltenders proved to be of little concern for St. Louis. Halak and Elliot split the goaltending duties during the regular season, so the switch was nothing new to the blues. Blue’s captain David Backes went on to score the only goal of the second period at 13:49.
The pace and intensity of play picked up as the game progressed. The third period was especially physical and included pushing and shoving at most every stoppage and a few chippy incidents that brought the whistle. As is always the case in a fiercely contested playoff series, familiarity breeds contempt. This game and the series will be no exception.
The third period was penalty filled with 24 penalties in total being called, nineteen of them in the final 1:24. Roughing calls on the Shark’s Bret Burns and Dan Boyle put the Sharks down two men late in the third,  which ended any hope of a miracle finish for San Jose. The ensuing Blue’s 5-on-3 power play allowed Andy McDonald to score his first of the series and seal the 3-0 victory with just 25 seconds remaining.
An all out melee ensued at the final horn with players from both sides involved in fights and the officials attempting to break things up. Unfortunately for San Jose, the Sharks had two players in the penalty box, so the battles were fought at a 5-on-3 St. Louis advantage.
The series is now tied 1-1 and goes to San Jose for games 3 and 4 beginning Monday night.
All photos by Jack Lima ( Jack.Lima@prohockeynews.com )