The San Jose Sharks are in St. Louis today for Game 1 of a Western Conference quarterfinals matchup against the No. 2-seeded Blues.
St. Louis (49-22-11) swept San Jose in four regular-season games on its way to becoming one of the top teams in the NHL.
The Sharks, on the other hand, barely made it into the playoffs with a 43-29-10 record but managed to capture four crucial late-season contests to solidify their postseason spot.
San Jose clearly has an uphill battle, so in order for the No. 7 team to pull off the upset, its players and coaches must keep a few things in mind.
Solid defense
At times this season, the Sharks fell victim to lazy turnovers and dumb plays by their defenders – the main contributors to a tough winter stretch that almost cost them a playoff berth.
San Jose players need to make sure they always put themselves in the right positions defensively. And scoring-minded defensemen (like Dan Boyle and Brent Burns) can”t get caught too deep in the offensive zone.
The Sharks would also benefit from goaltender Antti Niemi yielding fewer than the 3.22 goals per game he gave up in the 2011 playoffs.
The St. Louis offense wasn”t unstoppable this season (ranking 21st in goals per game), but it was efficient and definitely performed well enough to help the team earn 109 points.
The Blues averaged almost three goals per win against the Sharks.
Productive offense
The bigger challenge for the Sharks will occur on the offensive end.
St. Louis, with its goaltending tandem of Jaroslav Halak (the Game 1 starter) and Brian Elliott, led the NHL in goals against this season and stymied San Jose in four games, allowing just three goals on 104 shots.
The Sharks have goal-scorers – Logan Couture, Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski each netted 30 or more this season – but they have to consistently put the puck in the net.
The solution has to be team-wide productivity.
San Jose needs goals from all of its lines, meaning guys like Ryane Clowe, Martin Havlat and Michal Handzus must contribute.
The stars also have to show up. In the 2011 postseason, Marleau scored just seven goals on 59 shots. Pavelski was worse, putting away only five of his 58 shots.
Special teams
The power play pretty much determined the regular-season series.
St. Louis scored a power-play goal in each of the four games and averaged nearly five opportunities per game (not too surprising since the Sharks” penalty kill was 29th in the league).
San Jose, however, managed just one goal on 19 power plays, an unacceptable clip for any team let alone one that finished the season ranked second in power-play percentage.
The Sharks need to start capitalizing on their chances and stifle the Blues in the process; they can”t win otherwise.
Special teams momentum might help San Jose break through at least once in St. Louis, which will be a tall task considering the Blues” 30-6-5 home record.
History
While it shouldn”t be what the Sharks hang their hats on, recent playoff history should be a source of confidence for the Bay Area squad.
San Jose definitely has the experience edge.
Many of the core players made the past two Western Conference Finals with the Sharks. Additionally, San Jose advanced out of the first round six of the previous seven seasons.
The Blues haven”t faired nearly as well.
St. Louis hasn”t won a playoff series since 2002, and this year is only the team”s second postseason appearance in seven years.
San Jose also holds a 2-1 series edge against the Blues in the playoffs.
All that said, Sharks” fans should expect their team to keep the positive trend going.
The Blues are clearly the favorite and likely have Stanley Cup Finals aspirations, but they”re a hungry and inexperienced team – both of which should play to San Jose”s advantage.
Plus, Sharks” players and coaches know they need to win otherwise everybody is on the chopping block.
Look for San Jose to embrace the underdog role, take two games in St. Louis and hold on for dear life at home en route to a 4-2 series victory.
