The Blues nailed each of Jammer’s keys to the series. The Blues won yet another one-goal game on Friday night, evening their series with the Sharks at 2-2. When you adjust for empty net goals, the Blues have played in 12 one-goal games this post season, going 8-4 in those games. Over two thirds of their playoff games have essentially been one-goal games.
The Blues scored 1st and jumped out to a good lead after one period, clinging on to the lead they established, surviving the remaining two periods. Jordan Binnington bested Martin Jones in save percentage and the Blues matched the Sharks power play goal. As a result, one shouldn’t be surprised the Blues won.
Many will point to the Sharks outshooting the Blues 21 to 12 in the last two periods but that was at least partially due to the Blues going into lead protection mode, the Blues taking an extra penalty and spending two minutes at four on four, something that is expected to be an advantage for the Sharks.
The Blues were able to go into lead protection mode thanks to a strong 1st period, where the Blues began forcing their will on the Sharks without the 1st minute.
Less than thirty seconds into the game, Alexander Steen takes an interesting line in applying forecheck pressure to Brent Burns. Burns seems to struggle finding the right play and makes a giveaway to Ivan Barbashev. Steen follows through with a check on Burns, knocking him to the ice as Barbashev appears to try and hit Oskar Sundqvist with a pass but the pass goes off Gustav Nyquist’s stick and past Martin Jones.
The next couple of minutes would be filled by good Vladimir Tarasenko chances but Tarasenko would miss the net. As the Blues got more accurate, Martin Jones got better, making a number of quality stops to keep the game at 1-0.
Finally, almost 18 minutes later, Tyler Bozak would solve Jones on the power play. Tarasenko lets the shot go from the left point. The shot is deflected by Pat Maroon with Bozak getting a stick on the rebound, sliding it into the net.
The Blues were outshot 11-8 in the 2nd period and the Sharks had long, extended levels of zone pressure. At one point the zone pressure, looked like something from the original Sega Genesis NHL hockey game. Interestingly, I didn’t think they had as many really high quality chances as you might expect given all their zone time and the resulting lineup match advantages.
In the third period, the Sharks would outshoot the Blues 10-4, eventually cutting the lead in half just under seven minutes into the period. Thomas Hertl would capitalize on the power play as Brent Burns left point shot would squeak through Binnington through his six hole.
Joel Edmundson would just miss an empty netter and the Blues would take a couple of icings late to make the last few minutes very nervous for their fans. In the end though, they would hold firm to even the series.
Alex Pietrangelo struggled a fair amount in Game 4 and his minutes appeared to confirm our eye test as he only played 22:30, less than 18 minutes of it at even strength. He also took the penalty that led to the Sharks only goal, hoping that he wouldn’t get called for tripping while preventing the Sharks two on one break.
Colton Parayko and Jay Bouwmeester combined to play over 49 minutes and were easily the Blues best defensemen, perhaps the best defensemen overall in the game. Bouwmeester had four hits, the most of any Blues defensemen, and four blocks while playing a 3:47 shift late in the 2nd period.
Joel Edmundson continued his May resurgence, playing over 20 minutes making that the fifth time in seven games that Edmundson has played over 19 minutes. Edmundson had gone 11 straight games with less than 19 minutes through the end of April and had only had one of seventeen in March and April while being scratched a number of times. People haven’t been talking about his improved play against the Sharks but they should be in my opinion.
None of the Blues forwards played more than 19:06. Sammy Blais didn’t see the ice in the final 12 minutes or so, likely due to being hurt by his shot block. Blais played another strong game even considering his penalty.
Robert Thomas must clearly be injured as he isn’t the same dynamic player he has been. He isn’t hurting the team by being a defensive liability but he didn’t generate much either. Thomas didn’t play in the final 11 minutes or so. Carl Gunnarsson also didn’t see the ice in the final 11 minutes or so.
Erik Karlsson was clearly in pain through much of the game and even had a stretch of the 3rd period of over seven minutes where he didn’t play. Of course, on his 1st shift back, he played almost 2 minutes. If Karlsson can’t go today it will be a challenge for Peter DeBoer and will make it more imperative to the Blues to be aggressive on the forecheck. I expect Karlsson to play but the more interesting thing will be how many minutes does he play.
In the last four Sharks vs Blues series, the Game 5 winner has won the series though sometimes that 5th game was the deciding game.
Read more about how this St. Louis Blues team aren't your dad's St. Louis Blues
here. It’s a great day for hockey.
NHL Champions for Charity Playoff Edition
In what I hope becomes a Hockeybuzz tradition, Hockeybuzz Sharks blogger
Steve Palumbo and I placed a wager on the series. If the Blues win, Steve has agreed to make a donation to the
Gateway Area Multiple Sclerosis Society (@mssociety on twitter) whose mission is help each person affected by MS in St. Louis address the challenges of living with MS. They help by raising funds for cutting-edge research, driving change through advocacy, facilitating professional education and providing programs and services that empower people with MS and their families to move their lives forward. I selected the MS Society to honor St. Louis Blues Anthem singer Charles Glenn. Read more about Charles
here.
If the Sharks win, I will donate to the
Hydrocephalus Association (@HydroAssoc on twitter) whose mission is to connect individuals to larger communities that can provide support and understanding, to educate national and state policymakers, the medical community, and the general population, and to advance treatment and eventually find a cure for Hydrocephalus.
I hope that our wagers will inspire players and fans to pledge donations for each win their team makes in the NHL playoffs.
NHL Champions for Charity Regular Season
Given that the Predators pulled out the division title, all be it not without some controversial officiating in the last couple of games, Best Buddies Tennessee
https://www.bestbuddies.org/tennessee/ is the beneficiary. Best Buddies Tennessee is dedicated to establishing a volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, leadership development and inclusive living opportunities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. As a side note, I recently got to experience a Best Buddies even in the St. Louis area that was led by the Eureka high school football team. It was a lot of fun and brought a lot of joy to those involved.
St Louis Blues Blogger • 
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