After a tough loss in Anaheim to begin the second half, the San Jose Sharks bounced back in a big way Thursday night. The Sharks, beginning a three-game swing against three of the Central Division’s best teams, picked up a 3-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues.
In the first matchup of the season between the two teams, San Jose continued their impressive road play, notching their 17th road win of the season which is tied for most wins in the league.
The first 20 minutes of action featured back-and-forth play on each end, but the goalies were up to the task. Martin Jones had to be sharp early, making a big stop in front on Blues sniper Vladimir Tarasenko just over a minute into the game, and that save would set the tone for Jones who was on point in this one.
St. Louis netminder Brian Elliott was also sharp in the first, making 16 saves as the game remained scoreless after one. However, San Jose got the breakthrough goal in the second off a great play by Joe Pavelski.
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Pavelski was able to draw Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester out of position and backhand a pass into the open ice for Joonas Donskoi who fired a changeup off the post and past Elliott for his eighth goal of the season. It was a great play to open up the space behind the St. Louis defense by Pavelski, but it’s one that Elliott would like to have back after being beaten cleanly on the short side.
The Sharks kept applying pressure, and after a string of penalties on both sides, found themselves at four-on-four. San Jose put together one of their best passing sequences of the year as Marc-Edouard Vlasic sent a touch pass to Pavelski on the wing who fired a cross-ice pass right to Joe Thornton who scored his 10th goal of the season, giving San Jose a 2-0 advantage. It was a beautifully orchestrated goal and was the first time the Sharks scored at four-on-four this year.
Tic tac joe. pic.twitter.com/N0ootBvduE
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) February 5, 2016
St. Louis was able to get one back late in the frame as Bouwmeester’s shot from the left point deflected off Paul Martin’s stick and past Jones as San Jose would take a one-goal lead into the third period.
While the Blues pushed for the tying tally, the Sharks defense stood tall on this night, blocking 26 shots for the game. Whenever a shot was able to find its way through, Jones was there to make the save, making 26 stops on this night.
With under four minutes remaining, San Jose found the insurance goal they were searching for. Matt Nieto was able to corral a loose puck in front and jam one past Elliott for his seventh goal of the year, and provide the icing on the cake for the Sharks.
This was a big victory for San Jose to bounce back after their defeat against the Ducks. The Sharks have been a streaky team this season, so immediately finding the win column against a quality opponent was great to see.
Next: Sharks Maintain Second Place Standing
San Jose now heads to Music City for a Saturday night tilt against the Nashville Predators in what is sure to be another tight-checking contest. The Sharks will look to continue their solid play on the road and close the gap even further with the first-place Kings in the Pacific.