Facing pressure form across the spectrum, the St Louis Blues put together a solid effort in San Jose Thursday with a 4-1 win over the Sharks.
Vladimir Tarasenko struck twice for the Blues who maintained their lead for the second
Carter Hutton got the win in San Jose Thursday – file photo by Lewis Bleiman
wild spot in the Western Conference.
Carter Hutton made 19 saves to pick up the win and help the Blues improve to 37-28-5.
“I thought we played great. I thought similar to last game up here, we didn’t really give up a whole heck of a lot. I thought we made some big plays,” Hutton said. “The power play came through huge, some separation, and from there we locked it down. I didn’t really give up much second chances, and in the third we kind of lulled them to sleep there.”
St Louis bounced back from a tight 2-1 loss in Anaheim to the Ducks.
“[Wednesday] night it was a close game, but we weren’t really happy with the way things went,” Blues head coach Mike Yeo said. “We knew that we left something on the table. So we asked for a response today and the guys more than delivered.”
Scottie Upshall and Zach Sanford added markers for the Blues.
“You want to get on them early,” Upshall said. “You want to show them you’re here to play and you have your legs.”
Marc-Edouard Vlasic was the Sharks lone goal scorer.
“I thought we looked tired out there, sluggish, we just didn’t have any jump up front. I think a lot of it was on us,” San Jose’s Logan Couture said. “This stretch for us is a difficult one, eight games in 12 days. This month has been pretty nuts, but every team goes through it. We need to get rested tomorrow and get our legs back for the game on Saturday. We need to force the play on their end.”
WATCH: All Blues vs. Sharks highlights
Aaron Dell made 32 saves in taking the loss as the Sharks dropped to 42-21-7.
“They came out hard,” Dell said. “I knew they were going to be pretty desperate. I don’t think we matched their desperation level tonight.”
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