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Blues Can't Keep Up With The Joneses

May 20, 2016, 6:47 AM ET [2 Comments]
GARTH'S CORNER
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The St. Louis Blues are in trouble. Big trouble.

They are doggy paddling for their lives in shark infested waters.

The Sharks are playing a puck possession game the likes of which the Blues haven't seen in the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Blues are chasing the puck.


Tomas Hertl ripped two goals and Martin Jones made 22 saves for his second straight shutout, as the Sharks devoured the St. Louis Blues 3-0 in Game 3 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 series.

Jones has been brilliant for the Sharks against the Blues. His save percentages for the past four games are: 1.000 1.000, .931, and 1.000. Jones now has three shutouts in his last four games dating back to May 12 when he shutout the Nashville Predators in Game 7 of their second round series.

In the first three games of the Western Conference Finals, Jones has allowed only 2 goals against on 71 shots attempts faced.

Jones has put himself into serious consideration for the Conn Smythe Trophy with his clutch goaltending performances. When his team needs a big stop, Jones gives it to them over and over again.


Along the way, the aggressive Sharks chased Brian Elliott from his net. Elliott played 46:09 TOI and was pulled with 6:09 remaining in the third period by Blues bench boss Ken Hitchcock after surrendering 3 goals on 14 shots at 5 on 5. Jake Allen mopped up the mess in the closing moments of the game.

To blame the loss on Elliott would be unfair as any casual observer would note that its been a combination of problems that are undermining the Blues. First and foremost, their stars have been invisible. Vlad Tarasenko and his playmaking and goal scoring have gone missing. David Backes, Kevin Shattenkirk, Alex Steen, Robby Fabbri and Jaden Schwartz have been silenced, too.

The Sharks attack with relentless speed. The Blue cannot sustain the same velocity and ferocity.



As the Blues try to find solutions, the Sharks keep taking advantage of St. Louis mistakes and poor decisions with the puck.



The Sharks are two wins away from their first trip to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Sharks captain Joe Pavelski notched two assists in the win. Logan Couture and Joe Thornton also had assists.



Thanks, Sharks TV


"It's a long ways to go," Sharks captain Joe Pavelski told the Sharks website. "It really is. We'll worry about this next game and we'll take it from there. Got to have that same kind of energy. The crowd was great. It's a fun atmosphere out there."



Jones now has three shutouts in his past four games , an achievement that ties Evgeni Nabokov for most in a single postseason (2004) in San Jose history.

Jones is first goalie since Michael Leighton in 2010 to get 3 shutouts in 4 playoff games (any rounds), per Elias Sports Bureau.

Jones has not allowed a goal since Blues forward Jori Lehtera scored at 9:15 of the second period in Game 1.



St. Louis has gone 150:45 without scoring a single goal.

The Sharks are for real on the defensive side of the puck.


"We've done it as a group," said Jones, who is the first goalie in Sharks history with back-to-back playoff shutouts. "I'm not being asked to steal these games."



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Frankly, the Blues look out of gas and fatigued which is understandable after having played seven grueling games with the Chicago Blackhawks in round one of the playoffs.



"You got to win four games," Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said after the 3-0 drubbing on Thursday night. "This is nothing. We're the first team of these two teams that's taken the bump now. Somebody had to be down 2-1. Neither one of us have experienced that. So we're going to have to deal with it. But it's still only 2-1. And we had a lot of good things today."


Hitchcock may want to leave Elliott on the bench and give the net to Allen in Game 4. He isn't tipping his hand just yet.



"I'm going to think about that one," he said. "Got two good goalies. Pretty good choice. Can't lose on either one."





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