Series schedule
The best-of-seven series is tied, one game to apiece.
Game 1: Blues 2, Sharks 1
Game 2: Sharks 4, Blues 0
Game 3: Thursday, May 19, Blues @ Sharks, 6 p.m.
Game 4: Saturday, May 21, Blues @ Sharks, 4:15 p.m.
Game 5: Monday, May 23, Sharks @ Blues, 5 p.m.
*Game 6: Wednesday, May 25, Blues @ Sharks, 6 p.m.
*Game 7: Friday, May 27, Sharks @ Blues, 5 p.m.
*if necessary
Last game
Brent Burns scored twice, both on the power play, and Martin Jones secured his second shutout of the playoffs in a 4-0 Sharks win at Scottrade Center on Tuesday. Tommy Wingels opened the scoring, while fellow fourth-liner Dainius Zubrus capped it off with an empty-net goal. San Jose went 2-for-5 on the power play and killed off all six Blues advantages, including a double-minor on Patrick Marleau early in the third when it was still just a 2-0 game.
Keep an eye on…
Sharks: Tommy Wingels. The Sharks forward has been strong ever since he was pulled from the lineup for two games in the second round, and despite getting just 9:44 of ice time in Game 2, tallied one goal and six hits. While an injured Matt Nieto appears to be nearing a return, it would be a surprise if he entered the lineup in place of Wingels, who was key cog in San Jose’s four-line attack on Tuesday.
Blues: Vladimir Tarasenko. The Blues’ leading scorer in the regular season with 40 goals and 74 points, Tarasenko has yet to find the scoresheet through two games. He led St. Louis with six shots on goal and 10 shot attempts in Game 2, but couldn’t squeeze one through, including one glorious look at the net early with the game still scoreless.
Probable lines
Sharks
Tomas Hertl – Joe Thornton – Joe Pavelski
Patrick Marleau – Logan Couture – Joonas Donskoi
Melker Karlsson – Chris Tierney – Joel Ward
Dainius Zubrus – Nick Spaling – Tommy Wingels
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Justin Braun
Paul Martin – Brent Burns
Brenden Dillon – Roman Polak
Martin Jones (starter)
James Reimer
Blues
Jaden Schwartz – Jori Lehtera – Vladimir Tarasenko
Robby Fabbri – Paul Stastny – Troy Brouwer
Patrik Berglund – Alexander Steen – David Backes
Scottie Upshall – Kyle Brodziak – Magnus Paajarvi
Jay Bouwmeester – Alex Pietrangelo
Robert Bortuzzo – Kevin Shattenkirk
Carl Gunnarsson – Colton Parayko
Brian Elliott (starter)
Jake Allen
Playoff vitals
Sharks
Goals per game: 3.29
Goals-against per game: 2.14
Power play: 30.0 percent
Penalty kill: 83.3 percent
Blues
Goals per game: 2.88
Goals-against per game: 2.44
Power play: 25.0 percent
Penalty kill: 78.7 percent
Injuries
Sharks: Matt Nieto (undisclosed) is out.
Blues: None.
Sharks playoff record when…
The Sharks are 8-5 all-time when a series is tied at one game apiece. They are 9-4 when leading two-games-to-one, and 3-9 when trailing two-games-to-one.
San Jose is 20-13 all-time in Game 3’s, including 11-6 at home.
Facts and figures
*The Sharks are 9-for-20 at home on the power play (45.0 percent), while the Blues are 7-for-18 on the road (38.9 percent).
*Logan Couture (19 points) and Brent Burns (18 points) lead the NHL in playoff scoring.
*Per Elias, teams that win Game 3 of a series that is tied 1-1 have an all-time record of 200-97 (67.3 percent).
*The Sharks have a five-game winning streak at home (5-1). St. Louis has won three straight on the road (5-2).
*Home teams are 39-38 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Quotable
“Anyone who has followed his career knows he's won at every level. … You can see the poise in his game. Seems like he never has an elevated heart rate. In the practice and games, he's always there making big saves.” – Tommy Wingels, on Martin Jones
(Sharks insider Kevin Kurz will be on CSN's SportsTalk Live at 5 p.m.)
