Sharks And Blues Battle For Season Series Supremacy
Feb 19, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Blues center David Backes (42) and San Jose Sharks center Joe Thornton (19) face off in the second period at the Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
The San Jose Sharks (11-7-6) take on the St. Louis Blues (13-10-2) in their third and final matchup of the season against one another. The road team has won each of the first two games so that bodes well for the visiting Sharks.
In their last game against each other just a few days ago San Jose took a 3-1 lead midway through the second period and were looking good. However, in the third period Vladimir Sobotka scored the second and third goals of his hat trick to tie the game. Eventually Patrick Berglund scored in overtime to put the Blues over the edge for the win.
With the Sharks having lost their last two games in overtime, albeit under different circumstances, they will be looking to get back in the win column. Getting points is great, but no matter how you look at it one point is not as good as two. In order to get the two points they want they will want to get back to doing what they did early on in the game against the Blues to get ahead, but this time finish stronger.
St. Louis has been up and down this season much like San Jose has been, and some of that is due to injury. Right now they have four guys (Jamie Langenbrunner, Vladimir Tarasenko, Andy McDonald and Alex Steen) all on injured reserve due to some sort of injury. But, even with these key injuries they have managed the same amount of points as the Sharks, 28.
Speaking of injuries, the biggest loss so far this season has been the absence of Brent Burns on the blue line because of his offensive abilities. He has only played in six games this season and during those games did not score a point. The good news is he is very close to a return and could be back tonight, according to CSN Bay Area’s Kevin Kurz.
What To Watch For
Again, I think the game will boil down to the Blues’ power play against the Sharks’ penalty kill. The Blues power play went 1-4 once last game and scored that critical game-tying goal in the third period. Then, of course, St. Louis went on to win the game. If San Jose can keep the power play not only off the board, but off the ice and out of rhythm, they will win this game. If not, they will be sent back home with a loss.