There will be a feel-good story at the end of the best-of-seven Western Conference Final series as two franchises with sordid playoff histories go head-to-head when the Sharks and Blues face-off with Game 1 on Sunday in St. Louis.
San Jose is looking to advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in franchise history and enters Round 3 for the first time since 2011, when it lost to Vancouver in five games. The Sharks have made it to the Western Conference Final for the fourth time ever.
St. Louis is hoping to get to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1970, when it lost to Boston in a four-game sweep. The Blues are in the third round for the first time since 2001, when they lost to the Avalanche in five games.
The Sharks exorcised playoff demons in Round 1 by ousting their rival Kings in five games and followed it up by eliminating the pesky Predators in seven games last round to silence their critics.
The Blues have been very resilient and battle-tested all spring, knocking off the defending Cup champion Blackhawks in seven games in the opening round and then overcoming the Stars in a series that went the distance in Round 2.
Both of these teams have had rough recent playoff histories, so whichever club emerges from this series will be a well-deserved conference champion. Here are our predictions and a preview for this series. To view our slideshow, CLICK START at the top right of this page. For our Lightning-Penguins predictions, click here.
[Pacific Division No. 3] San Jose Sharks (46-30-6, 98 points) vs. [Central Division No. 2] St. Louis Blues (49-24-9, 107 points)
Round 2 Reflection: Last time around, we picked both clubs to win in six, but they did so in seven.
Season Series: 2-1 Sharks. The Sharks defeated the Blues 3-1 on Feb. 4 and 6-3 on Feb. 22 (both in St. Louis), while the Blues defeated their opponent, 1-0, in their most recent meeting on Mar. 22 in San Jose.
Special Teams (16 playoff teams): Sharks: 30.9 percent power play (2nd), 82.3 percent penalty kill (7th); Blues: 27.5 percent power play (T-3rd), 79.5 percent penalty kill (8th)
Projected Goalie Matchup: San Jose: Martin Jones (8-4, 2.16 goals-against average, .918 save percentage); St. Louis: Brian Elliott (8-6, 2.29 GAA, .959 save percentage)
Series Overview: This will be a very competitive series with an interesting dynamic as the Sharks will attempt to use their speed to avoid the physical play of the Blues, while St. Louis will try to slow San Jose down by throttling it into the boards.
Both of these teams have an awful recent history in the playoffs, so both will be hungry to get to the Stanley Cup Final now that they've been presented an elusive chance to advance there.
San Jose's speedy attack has been paced by Logan Couture and Brent Burns. Couture, who had 11 points last round, leads the playoffs with 17 overall, while Burns, who helps anchor the defense and is never shy about shooting the puck, is tied for second with 15 and leads the NHL with 11 assists.
Joe Pavelski (13) follows closely behind and is tied for the playoff lead with nine goals. The Sharks boast plenty of veterans, including Joe Thornton (3-8--11) and Patrick Marleau (4-5--9), who are looking to exorcise playoff demons in what could be their final real shot at hoisting the Stanley Cup.
There is no shortage of star power on the Blues. Vladimir Tarasenko is tied for second in the NHL with seven goals and knotted for third with 13 points. Captain David Backes is tied for third with six tallies, while rookie Robby Fabbri's 13 points matches him for third in the league.
Backes (12) is one of six St. Louis players with double digit points this spring, a list that includes Jaden Schwartz (3-8--11), Kevin Shattenkirk (2-8--10) and Troy Brouwer (5-5--10), who has played a Game 7 in his last eight playoff series' and is 4-4 in such contests.
Shattenkirk, Alex Pietrangelo and Jay Bouwmeister hold up a solid blue line for the Blues.
One major dynamic of this series could be special teams. Though both teams are pretty impressive in all aspects of the game, the Blues have averaged over 11 minutes in penalties per game this postseason and with 14 contests already logged, penalties could prove to be a fatal blow against a speedy Sharks power play.
The Blues have home-ice advantage, but the Sharks were better on the road than at home this season. However, San Jose dropped all three road games to Nashville, including a potential series-clinching Game 6, last round.
San Jose was 18-20-3 at home, but is 5-1 in the playoffs at SAP Center -- a mark that includes four wins against the Predators, the biggest being Game 7.
The goalie matchup will be very interesting as Jones has proven he has what it takes to lift a team in his first postseason as a true No. 1 and Elliott has silenced his many critics by winning two playoff rounds. Jones and Bishop rank fourth and fifth, respectively, in goals-against average this postseason.
Last Call: This one will come down to the wire. If there are any teams who realize how hard it is to get to this stage, it's the Sharks and the Blues. Both teams know how to score goals as San Jose has found the twine for a blistering and NHL-leading 3.42 goals per game in the playoffs, while St. Louis ranks third (3.14). This is one that can truly go either way, but given the way the Sharks were able to respond to the physical play of the Kings, this one will come down to the wire and the Blues just won't have enough energy to win their third consecutive Game 7.
The Pick: Sharks in 7.
