The San Jose Sharks lost game 1 of the Western Conference Finals and trail in a series for the first time this playoff season.
The St. Louis Blues, behind superb goaltending from Brian Elliot, won the game 2-1, and for the first time since the regular season ended, the Sharks find themselves looking up at another team.
The Blues came out and played a physical, aggressive game that had them outhitting San Jose by a 2-to-1 margin (28-14). Elliot did the rest, making 31 stops, including all 15 in a middle frame dominated by the Sharks.
We all watched the game so I'll save the recap stuff for NHL.com
My take on game 1 and the rest of the series.
The Blues came in with a plan to hit everything in white and teal and despite the score, it didn't really work to their advantage. The Sharks carried much of the play and looked more comfortable 5-on-5 than they did in the entire Nashville series.
The Sharks were able to move the puck with quick tape-to-tape passes which allowed them to enter the Blues zone with relative ease. The Blues aggressive style led to three power-play chances for the Sharks, but their penalty killers did an excellent job of limited dangerous chances against.
If the Blues are going to keep playing that close to the edge it will eventually burn them. The Sharks PP was operating at a better than 30% rate and it's a matter or when, not if, they will score.
Blues' goalie Brian Elliot was impressive. He had several spectacular saves, including a toe-save on a wide open Joe Pavelski one-timer. He also had a little help from the pipes and a quick whistle or two, but I digress.
I thought San Jose played a very effective road game. They carried the play for extended stretches and controlled the majority of the face-offs. It was fun to watch despite the lack of results.
So what went wrong?
This goal is what went wrong.
Martin Jones had a decent game, except for the game-winning goal from Jori Lehtera in the second period. Lehtera's shot found its way through Jones' armpit to put the Blues ahead for good.
The goal came at a time when the Sharks were completely dominating the Blues. But another atrocious turnover by Brent Burns led to the Lehtera rush. Burns hung Jones out to dry a couple of times with his careless, lazy puck play. Unfortunately, this one came back to haunt them.
Following the game, head coach Deboer mentioned his team winning the period in every aspect but on the scoreboard. It's the first time this Spring that a misstep by Burns or Jones came back to haunt the team in such a manner.
Both will have to be much better moving forward if San Jose wants to win this series.
In hindsight, the game was not all bad. The Blues may have the serieslead but they certainly didn't instill fear in the Sharks. This series is far from over and even down a game I believe in this Sharks team.
Having been able to watch this Sharks team and become fully invested in them, I have seem a metamorphosis of sorts and I feel very strongly that they can and will win this series. The amount of games won't matter as long as they get to four first.
Regardless of the outcome I expect a very fun and entertaining series. Game 1 had a coaches challenge, a lost puck and a beard tugging episode and it's ONLY GAME ONE!
I love this sport.
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To keep things fun while helping out a couple of great causes, Blues blogger, Jason Millen and I have made a wager on the series.
If the Sharks win the series Millen will make a donation to the hydroassoc.org, 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.
And if the Blues win, I have agreed to make a donation to Covenant House Missouri whose mission is to empower youth who are disconnected to design their own path from homelessness to opportunity.
Thanks for reading, Steve Follow me on Twitter: @Faultlinehockey