San Jose Loses To St. Louis Amid Scoring Struggles
Mar 12, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; San Jose Sharks defenseman Brad Stuart (7), defenseman Douglas Murray (3) and goalie Antti Niemi (31) collide during the second period at the Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
The San Jose Sharks fell to the St. Louis Blues by the final of 4-2 in the final matchup of the regular season between the two teams. The win gives St. Louis the 2-1 season-series win.
In an interesting decision by Todd McClellan and the coaching staff this evening defenseman Brent Burns, during his first game back off of injured reserve, played as a forward. The decision seemed to pay off with Burns getting his first goal and point of the season. He was also willing to throw his weight around which was nice to see from one of the biggest teams in the league that at times refuses to do it.
Game Summary
The Blues struck first, just as they did on Saturday, in the first period when Chris Stewart scored his 10th goal of the season. The assists were credited to David Backes and Alex Pietrangelo on the goal which came with about six and a half minutes left to go in the period.
The period was also marred by a few penalities although neither team scored with the man advantage. The Sharks penalty kill went 2/2 against the strong Blues’ power play in the first frame as well.
In the second period the Blues scored again midway through to make the score 2-0 after David Perron deflected in a shot from Patrick Berglund that was able to beat Antti Niemi.
About one minute later the Sharks finally answered when Brent Burns scored his first of the season with the assists going to linemates Scott Gomez and defenseman Matt Irwin. The goal was scored when Burns was used as a forward, which is both awesome and sad at the same time because it shows that if some of the other forwards would put forth a bit more effort the goals are there.
Unfortunately, with just seven seconds left in the period, the Blues scored for the second time in the period to make it a two-goal lead right before going into the dressing rooms. The goal was scored by Chris Porter with Jackman getting his first of two assists for the game.
The goal was especially frustrating because only two Blues players wer in the offensive zone while there were four Sharks. Although San Jose dominated the period by outshooting St. Louis 19-10, it remained a 3-1 Blues lead.
Once again, the Sharks dominated the third period and were all over the Blues, this time outshooting them 13-4 in the period. With six and a half minutes left San Jose scored their first power play goal of the game on a slap shot by Dan Boyle. His first unit linemates Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski were awarded with the assists to close the gap to 3-2.
Once again, in true Sharks fashion throughout the season, they were unable to come back when Chris Stewart scored his second goal of the game, this time an empty netter, to put the nail in the coffin. The game ended with a 4-2 St. Louis win.
My 3 Stars
1. Chris Stewart (2 goals)
2. Barret Jackman (2 assists)
3. Brent Burns (1 goal)