It was always going to be tough when watching two of your favourite sides going head-to-head but being in St Louis meant, I was going to go for the homeside in this one. Of course the Blues decided to out in a disappointing performance while the Sharks were looking dangerous all game. At least this year I did get to see Vladimir Tarasenko play, and not only that but watch him score. As with Evgeni Malkin missing for Pittsburgh two seasons in a row when I came to visit, Alexander Steen followed suit with this encounter.
Joe Thornton had a four-point game (two goals, two assists) and Logan Couture had two goals and an assist for the San Jose Sharks, who tied the NHL lead for most road wins with a 6-3 victory against the St. Louis Blues at Scottrade Center. The Sharks won their 21st road game, which tied the Washington Capitals for most in the League. Tomas Hertl scored twice, Marc-Edouard Vlasic had two assists and Martin Jones made 25 saves for San Jose, which is 14-3-3 in its past 20 games and has scored four or more goals in four of the past six. The Sharks are 21-9-2 away from SAP Center.
The Sharks capitalized on the top penalty kill unit in the NHL by scoring twice, and Thornton benefited from another four-point game in St. Louis; his most-recent four-point game prior to Monday was at Scottrade Center, where he had a goal and three assists on Oct. 15, 2013. Thornton has 39 points since Dec. 15, most in the NHL. He has 53 points in 46 games against the Blues.
The Blues had their five-game winning streak end, and they lost goalie Brian Elliott to a lower-body injury after the Sharks' third goal. Elliott, who made 12 saves, was replaced by Jake Allen. Allen made 15 saves in his first game since Jan. 8. He was activated off injured reserve Sunday. Blues coach Ken Hitchcock didn't have an update on Elliott. He said they'll have a better evaluation in the next day or so.
Vladimir Tarasenko had a goal and two assists, David Backes scored his 200th NHL goal, Jay Bouwmeester scored and the Blues fell to 7-2-1 in February, with both regulation losses against San Jose. Hertl gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead off a wraparound following Thornton's flip pass behind the net at 4:44 of the first period.
After Ryan Reaves was ejected from the game for boarding Matt Tennyson at 8:37, Hertl scored again on a loose puck in front at 10:18 for a 2-0 Sharks lead.
Blues defenseman Robert Bortuzzo took a slashing penalty and gave the Sharks a two-man advantage for 1:36, and Couture was on the doorstep and poked one past Elliott for a 3-0 lead at 12:59. Kevin Shattenkirk summoned for head athletic trainer Ray Barile to look at Elliott, who departed the game after trying to take some quick pivot skates in his crease.
The Blues got a goal back when Backes' power-play goal came off a goalmouth scramble following a Jaden Schwartz shot from the slot with 2:24 remaining in the first to make it 3-1. The Blues cut the San Jose lead to 3-2 when Tarasenko's wrist shot from the right circle beat Jones high short side at 11:25 of the second period, but Couture scored 20 seconds later to restore a two-goal lead when he tapped in Vlasic's left point shot, giving Couture three points in the game. Couture has a point in six of the past eight games (five goals, seven assists).
Joel Edmundson whiffed on a cross-ice pass, lost the puck and Thornton beat Allen from the slot five-hole at 7:26 of the third to make it 5-2. Bouwmeester's slap shot from the blue line beat a screened Jones at 9:50 of the third to make it 5-3. The Sharks challenged goalie interference on Schwartz, but the call stood. Thornton scored an empty-net goal at 18:35.
Blues Quotes
Ken Hitchcock: "Seems to be order of the day (and) of the year, eh? We'll have to sort out. We've got a day off [Tuesday]. We'll sort out what we're going to do. We'll have further evaluation on Brian. If Brian can't go, then it's Jake's turn now."
"I really thought when we made it 3-2, I thought we could have built some good shifts off of that. We would have really been in good shape, but to get scored on right away, took all of the air out of the balloon for us."
Jake Allen: "[the injuries are] getting a bit old, you can say that to say the least. But we really have no control over it. It's unfortunate that we don't. I'm not sure exactly what the prognosis is with Brian, but hopefully it's very minor and nothing too crazy. It's unfortunate. It's another body we've lost, probably some of the most man-games in the League, but we've battled through it and we have to find a way on Thursday."
Sharks Bites
Joe Thornton: "It was good. We got off to a quick start and obviously getting that five minutes was huge and scoring the 5-on-3 was huge. It's always nice playing with the lead and we did a good job with it tonight."Peter DeBoer: "I liked our game, even prior to [the power-play goals]. I think we came out ready to play and were carrying the play. For sure, I think that's the ultimate retribution for a hit like that is to score two or three power-play goals and that decision basically cost them the game."
Logan Couture: "It's nice when you get a couple bounces and the puck finds it's way in the net for you. It's been a trying year to score a goal. It's been nice lately to score a couple like that."
Other Results
Columbus @ Boston 6-4
Phoenix @ Washington 2-3
Nashville @ Montreal 2-1 SO
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