The St. Louis Blues are on the cusp of being named the Western Conference champions and booking their place in the Stanley Cup Finals against the Boston Bruins, by creating a huge upset with a 5-0 shutout victory over the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center.
Jaden Schwartz‘s hat trick (his second of the 2019 postseason – vs Winnipeg Jets in Round 1), accompanied by a goal from Oskar Sundqvist and a converted penalty shot by Vladimir Tarasenko, who also had two assists, helped the Blues see off San Jose.
Jordan Binnington made 21 saves for the visitors for his first Stanley Cup Playoff shutout.
The Blues, who are 7-2 on the road and set their single-season record with 11 playoff wins, were outshot 11-4 in the first period before outshooting San Jose 36-10 in the final two.
Martin Jones made 35 saves for the hosts, who have lost two in succession for the first time since Games 3 and 4 of the first round against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Problems mounted for the Sharks in the third period with forward Joe Pavelski leaving the game with an injury following a hit by Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, and neither Erik Karlsson or Tomas Hertl taking a shift the entire period.
St. Louis take a 3-2 series lead back home where they’ll host the Sharks in Game 6 on Tuesday, May 21 (8pm E.T), a victory will see them head to Boston on Monday, May 27.
Up Next:
Sharks v Blues – Tuesday, May 21 (8pm – NBCSN)
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ALL TIMES U.S. EASTERN
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