San Jose and St. Louis are set to get things going tomorrow night so let’s take a look at some the critical matchups that will help determine this series.
The San Jose Sharks and St. Louis Blues have been considered Stanley Cup favorites in the past, but have fallen short of the ultimate goal. With both teams exorcising some of their previous demons in the first two rounds, they find themselves pitted against one another for the right to represent the Western Conference in the final round.
As we continue along with our preview of this Western Conference Final series, here are the pivotal matchups to watch between these two clubs:
Martin Jones vs. Brian Elliott
Throughout these playoffs, Jones has been solid between the pipes for the Sharks, utilizing his calm demeanor to help him navigate the highs-and-lows of postseason hockey.
Jones has matched his regular season save percentage at .918 and has improved his goals-against-average to 2.16 during these playoffs. While he struggled on the road against Nashville, Jones has been stellar at home with a .946 save percentage. Also, he started all three games against St. Louis during the regular season and was strong in net with a 1.68 GAA and a .937 save percentage.
The Sharks will need him to be even better against the Blues as they don’t have the luxury of home ice in this round.
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Meanwhile, Elliott has been a stalwart in nets for St. Louis, leading the league with a .930 save percentage during the regular season and raking third in GAA at 2.07. During these playoffs, he’s been just as good with a 2.29 GAA and a .929 save percentage.
The Sharks will have to get traffic and pucks to the net in order to try and get Elliott off his game because if he can see it, he’s likely to stop it.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic/Justin Braun vs. Vladimir Tarasenko
This will be the key matchup to watch when team teal is on defense as San Jose’s shutdown pair will likely draw the difficult assignment of trying to shut down one of the premiere snipers in the game.
Peter DeBoer will lean on Vlasic and Braun to limit the time and space from Tarasenko, which is easier said than done. Tarasenko leads the Blues with seven goals and 13 points during the postseason after ranking fourth in the NHL with 40 goals this year.
The Sharks struggled at times to handle the top line of the Predators last series, and they can ill-afford to allow Tarasenko to break loose in this one.
Joe Thornton vs. Alexander Steen
While Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture have done a lot of damage for San Jose in these playoffs, the offense still runs through Thornton who often sets the tone for how the Sharks are going to play on any given night.
When Thornton’s struggled, the Sharks have struggled, but when he’s going, team teal is awfully difficult to stop.
Thornton has registered 11 points (three goals, eight assists) thus far, but will face his stiffest test to date in Steen.
Steen is an excellent two-way forward who the Blues like to deploy in a shutdown role, and he will lead a third-line along with David Backes and Patrik Berglund.
Next: Sharks Four Keys To Defeat The Blues
To show the faith Ken Hitchcock has in Steen, he ranks third on St. Louis with 21:27 of ice time, trailing only Alex Pietrangelo and Jay Bouwmeester.
It should be a fascinating matchup to watch as these two will likely get well-acquainted over the next two weeks.