Blades of Teal
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San Jose Sharks: Bring On The Blues

By Patrick Leiva

Mar 22, 2016; San Jose, CA, USA; St. Louis Blues right wing Troy Brouwer (36) shoots against San Jose Sharks goalie Martin Jones (31) in the first period at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 22, 2016; San Jose, CA, USA; St. Louis Blues right wing Troy Brouwer (36) shoots against San Jose Sharks goalie Martin Jones (31) in the first period at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports /
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San Jose faces another Central Division foe in the third round as they are set to face the St. Louis Blues in the Western Conference Finals.

After a thrilling demolition of the Nashville Predators, the San Jose Sharks are ready for their next foe: the St. Louis Blues.

This will be the fifth all-time meeting between the Sharks and Blues in the postseason, with all four previous encounters coming in the first round. The two franchises have split their previous matchups, with St. Louis capturing the most recent meeting in five games back in 2012.

During the regular season, the road team won every contest with the Sharks first earning a 3-1 victory over the Blues on Feb. 4th behind goals from Joonas Donskoi, Joe Thornton and Matt Nieto.

Then, just 18 days later, San Jose was back in St. Louis for their second meeting of the season and team teal would jump all over the Blues, scoring three times in the opening frame. Thornton, Tomas Hertl and Logan Couture would each score two goals to power the Sharks to a 6-3 win.

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Finally, these two squads would square off at SAP Center for the only time this season on March 22nd, and the Sharks actually controlled much of the action. Unfortunately, team teal couldn’t find a way past Brian Elliott who made 37 saves in a 1-0 shutout for St. Louis.

This series will kick off in St. Louis beginning on Sunday night after each team was able to earn convincing victories in Game 7 of their respective second-round series.

Full Schedule

Game 1: Sharks @ Blues, Scottrade Center, 5:00 p.m. PDT, NBCSN

Game 2: Sharks @ Blues, Scottrade Center, 5:00 p.m. PDT, NBCSN

Game 3: Sharks vs. Blues, SAP Center, 6:00 p.m. PDT, NBCSN

Game 4: Sharks vs. Blues, SAP Center, 4:15 p.m. PDT, NBC

Game 5: Sharks @ Blues, Scottrade Center, 5:00 p.m. PDT, NBCSN

Game 6: Sharks vs. Blues, SAP Center, 6:00 p.m. PDT, NBCSN

Game 7: Sharks @ Blues, Scottrade Center, 5:00 p.m. PDT, NBCSN

This should be a fascinating series as these are two of the top three scoring teams throughout these playoffs squaring off. In 12 games, the Sharks lead the postseason at 3.42 goals per game (41 goals), while the Blues rank third at 3.14 goals per game (44 goals in 14 games).

Next: Sharks Throttle Predators In Game 7

Also, these are two of the most potent power plays in the league as San Jose leads the playoffs with 13 goals on the man advantage and a league-best 31 percent (13-for-42) success rate. Meanwhile, St. Louis is tied with Pittsburgh for second with a power-play conversion rate of 27.5 percent (11-for-40).

Both teams have been exorcising some of their playoff demons to an extent during this postseason run, and one of them will finally break through and reach the Stanley Cup Finals when all is said and done.

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