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The Blues were relentless and dominated on Sunday, besting the Sharks 5-0 and putting themselves on the cusp of their first Stanley Cup Final appearance since 1970. The win set a franchise record for playoff wins in a season as in the early years, it took less wins to makes the Finals.
When I say domination, forget the scoreboard for a minute. According to Corsica Hockey, the Blues had 18 high danger shots and 16 mid-danger shots while the Sharks only had 2 high danger and 7 mid danger shots. They were
on the forecheck, wreaking havoc on the Sharks but the game didn’t start out that way early.
The Blues survived a scare in the opening seconds when Evander Kane hit the post not even a minute into the game. The Blues rebounded getting two quality chances (one off the post) before opening the scoring about six minutes in on yet another poor giveaway by one of the Sharks two key defenders. Much like Game 4 where Brent Burns made a poor pass attempt under pressure from Alexander Steen to start the game, this time Erik Karlsson did effectively the same thing with Pat Maroon coming in on the forecheck.
Karlsson throws a suicide pass to the middle of Brandon Dillon’s legs. Dillon may have assumed that Karlsson wouldn’t make that poor of a pass unless he wanted it to go by to someone else and lets the pass go. Unfortunately for the Sharks, the throwaway pass goes right to Oskar Sundqvist who blasts the shot by a screened Martin Jones (thank you Karlsson for the screen as well).
The Blues had more quality chances than the Sharks in the 1st period but all of those occurred in the 1st half of the period. The Sharks controlled the play in the 2nd half of the period but didn’t many high quality chances.
The Blues extended the lead to two a little over three minutes into the 2nd period. While the box score officially states the goal was unassisted, the goal really was assisted by Brayden Schenn and Vladimir Tarasenko. Schenn moves the puck from behind the net to Schwartz who throws the puck through the middle of the ice. It goes off the wall to Tarasenko who one-times a shot toward the net. The shot is partially blocked and then Martin Jones redirects the shot to Schwartz who scores the easy goal.
I’m sure Tarasenko and Schenn couldn’t care less about not getting credit for the assists as this team seems focused on the long game.
The Blues would extend the lead to three on a penalty shot goal from Vladimir Tarasenko about four minutes later and finish the period outshooting the Sharks 20-6, making the game feel a lot like Game 6 in the 1st round against the Jets.
The Sharks would lose their cool in the 3rd period with the penalty parade starting just a couple of minutes into the period. Schwartz scored his second goal on the power play a little over two minutes into the 3rd period. The undisciplined play by the Sharks would continue with them taking eight penalties for a total of 32 minutes in the period.
Schwartz would get the hat trick on a brilliant primary assist from Tarsaenko with about four minutes left in the game.
There was much debate and discussion regarding a number of hits in the game. For example, with 9:20 left in the 1st period, Ivan Barbashev hit Tomas Hertl. As I said during and after the game, I didn’t love the contact on the play as I thought Barbashev could have done more to avoid the contact. Sure Hertl circles back into Barbashev’s path and Barbashev does angle his right shoulder a bit out of the way but I think Barbashev could have done more to avoid the contact and would have given him a 2 minutes penalty for an illegal check to the head. I also don’t think that play, made by a player without a suspension history, likely ever results in a suspension. Watch the hit here.
It is interesting to note that Hertl played a period and a half of hockey more, playing 12 more shifts totaling 6:39 of ice time before sitting out the 3rd period. Approximately two thirds of his ice time for the day came after the hit. People are assuming that he is missing today’s game because of a concussion. While I understand why they are assuming that, and it might very well be the case, it is possible that it is a result of a different injury.
Another hit that many are commenting is the hit that Alex Pietrangelo put on Joe Pavelski early in the third period. Watch the hit here though I recommend slowing down the playback speed. I don’t like how Pietrangelo’s left gove/arm get on Pavelski. Again, I think this a penalty worth hit but I think this rarely generates a suspension from a player without a suspension history. I think in this case, the rush to get Pavelski back after the incident in Vegas likely exacerbates the situation more.
There were other questionable hits in my opinion. For example, Brenden Dillon also got his glove/arm/butt end of his stick very high on Oskar Sundqvist after taking Sundqvist down from behind. This also seemed to warrant a penalty but go uncalled in the game. Watch it here.
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Others seemed to debate Dillon’s hit on Pietrangelo. To me, Dillon’s arm position, or more specifically his follow throw is the problem. He starts with his arm in the upper part of Pietrangelo’s chest and follows through upwards toward his head. Again, the play went without a penalty during the game. Watch it here:
Also in the game, Kevin LaBanc appeared to spear Sundqvist away from the puck. This series sure seems to have a nastier, dirtier edge than the 1st two rounds with high hits, spears, head shots, etc.
In looking back, the Blues were aces when it came to Jammer’s keys. They scored early, won the 1st period, won the goaltending and won special teams. It’s not surprising to see a big victory when having success with each key.
In the post-game press conference Sunday, the Sharks sounded like Blues teams of old, bemoaning missed calls and officiating. Contrast the tone to that of the Blues after Game 3 and you will note a pretty big difference in my humble opinion. I told Steve Palumbo after the game that I wouldn’t love their comments if I was a Sharks fan. I know all too well from those prior years with the Blues.
It seems to me that a team needs to maintain focus on the things it can control. I’m sure it is amazingly frustrating for them but you can’t let your focus slip onto that frustration in my opinion. You have to work to maintain focus on the next task at hand.
This surprise wasn’t just after Game 5 as it started earlier in the series when I was really surprised that coach DeBoer opened up, expressing frustration over comments regarding how some felt the Sharks have been lucky to get as far as they have. While I understand his frustration, I was none the less surprised by the comment. They could have come across in a Rodney Dangerfield, we don’t get any respect kind of way but they seemed to fall flat in that regard. I happen to agree with him in that the Sharks haven’t gotten enough credit. Sure they got some breaks but they actually made the most of them, taking advantage of them and winning the games. I’m sure they also have gotten some bad breaks. As I like to say, you have to win regardless of the officiating. The Blues hope to do just that and enter their first Stanley Cup Final since 1970.
On the injury front, Erik Karlsson and Tomas Hertl are out, staying back in San Jose. Joe Pavelski is a game time decision. Robert Thomas had another maintenance rest but will play. Vince Dunn is still not skating.
Somebody is going to get their 1st loss in this type of game tonight. The Sharks are 4-0 games facing elimination and the Blues are 2-0 in clinching opportunities. Someone’s perfect record will be soiled tonight.
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.
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