Blues hold off Sharks 4-3 in Game 3
SAN JOSE — The St. Louis Blues allowed just three goals while sweeping four games from the San Jose Sharks this season.
So when Alexander Steen put the Blues ahead 4-1 by scoring a power-play goal 59 seconds into the third period Monday night at HP Pavilion, they appeared to put a stranglehold on Game 3 of their Western Conference Quarterfinal series. But St. Louis, the NHLs stingiest team during the regular season at 1.9 goals against per game, needed all of those goals to hold off a furious Sharks rally and secure a 4-3 victory.
The Blues lead the series 2-1, with Game 4 scheduled for Thursday night at HP Pavilion (10:30 pm ET; NBCSN, TSN, RDS).
Patrik Berglund, Andy McDonald, Jason Arnott and Steen scored goals for the Blues, and goaltender Brian Elliott stopped 26 shots.
We all feel ecstatic that we got the win, said defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo, who assisted on three of the Blues four goals. But a lot of us are pretty upset about the way we finished. You cant let a team like that get any life. You cant let a team like that scratch and claw, especially when we played so well for 55 minutes of the game. At the end of the day, we battled hard, we found a way to win.
Our special teams were huge — penalty kill and power play. Well learn from that. Its a learning thing for us. Well take a look at the video, well learn from it and well be better the next game.
The Blues went 3-for-4 on the power play against a Sharks penalty kill that ranked 29th in the NHL during the regular season. St. Louis has scored at least one power play goal in all three games in the series and is 5-for-13 overall. The Sharks went 1-for-4 on the power play and are 2-for-11 for the series.
We just do what we do, Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said of the power play. I dont think we get enough credit. If you look at our power play, I think we finished mid-pack, somewhere around there, but we made a heck of a climb because we were in 30th place and everybody was laughing at us around Christmas time, so weve made a heck of a climb since then. And I think our power play has been a threat now for almost 40 days. Weve done good things.
Elliot went 2-0 with one shutout of the Sharks during the regular season, then came off the bench early in the second period of Game 2 on Saturday after Jaroslav Halak was injured to earn a share of a 3-0 shutout. Halak went 2-0 with a shutout against San Jose in the regular season, too.
This time, the Sharks got to Elliott three times, though two of the goals came after the Blues led by three.
Defenseman Brent Burns scored for the Sharks on a power play in the first period. Defenseman Colin White, making his first appearance of the postseason, made it 4-2 with 3:02 left to play, and Logan Couture added a goal with 17 seconds remaining.
Goaltender Antti Niemi had a rough night, allowing four goals on 27 shots.
There was a spark at the end and it gave guys some confidence, Sharks forward Joe Pavelski said. We have to win more battles everywhere. It can be as simple as winning the puck race. We need to stay on our forecheck and keep those sustained, a few more clears and win a few more battles. Penalty kill cannot give up three.
Five-on-five was pretty even. We played them tight and they played us tight. We just have to do a better job on power plays. Theres a lot of work left that has to be done. We need to sharpen up. We need to execute.
After the Blues and Sharks exchanged power-play goals in the first 20 minutes, St. Louis scored twice in the second to take a 3-1 lead.
McDonald put St. Louis ahead 2-1 with his second goal of the series 1:01 into the period. Colaiacovo ripped a long shot that deflected off Berglund and past Niemi to McDonald, who put the puck into a wide-open net from just to the left of the crease.
Arnott made it 3-1 with a power play goal at 10:06. With Sharks defenseman Douglas Murray in the penalty box for interference he shoved ex-Shark Scott Nichol into San Joses goal from behind — Arnott took a cross-ice pass from McDonald and beat Niemi with a sharp-angled shot.
Steen made it 4-1 with the Blues third power-play goal. He sent a laser from the right circle past Niemi on the continuation of a power play from late in the second when Sharks forward Daniel Winnik boarded Colaiacovo.
They held on for the win, but Hitchcock feels his team has plenty of room for improvement.
This isnt taking anything away from the win, but we can play a lot better than we played tonight, and were going to play a lot better, Hitchcock said. The next game were going to play better because were learning how to win. We did a couple things in the third period that werent our 200-foot game, but the reason we were on the power play was we were committed to that. We got onto the power play because of that. Our puck placement was a lot better.
The win in St. Louis eased the burden on everybody, a lot of the younger players, and I think theres a level of confidence starting to grow. Sure, we kind of fumbled things at the end a little bit, but thats the learning curve. Instead of clearing, we decided to stickhandle twice and got caught. Well learn that lesson and move forward. I know were up 2-1, but I know we can play a lot better. I know we have individuals that can play a lot better and we will. I like the fact that we came out in a tough building and played the way we did and got a 4-1 lead. Thats a good sign.
The Blues went 34-2-2 during the regular season when leading after two periods. With Elliott in goal, that lead seemed beyond safe. Elliott led the NHL in goals-against average (1.56) and save percentage (.940) and tied for second in shutouts with nine during the regular season. His save percentage was the highest since the statistic was adopted in 1982.
But the Blues had to hang on for the win as the Sharks refused to roll over.
The determination was still there until the end, Sharks coach Todd McLellan said. There was no roll-over, there was no play dead, even till the last second. Logan had a deflection that had a chance to go in. We can build off of that.
The Blues took a 1-0 lead at 14:31 of the first on Berglunds power-play goal with Sharks forward Tommy Wingels in the box for high-sticking defenseman Alex Pietrangelo. Colaiacovos long blast hit the right post and bounced back in front of the crease. With Niemi sprawled on the ice to the left of the crease and no other Shark in the area, Berglund sent the puck into a wide-open net for his third goal of the series.
It came up huge, Berglund said of the power play. We play it simple. We support and talk to each other a whole lot. We get momentum from it. Were real happy we could get three tonight.
The Sharks answered at 16:45 when Burns scored his first career postseason goal in his 14th game — the first 11 came with Minnesota. Burns took the puck, maneuvered his way past TJ Oshie and the rest of the Blues penalty-killers, then beat Elliott with a backhand from short range.
Joe Thornton earned an assist on Burns goal for his first point of the series and the first point by a member of the Sharks top line of Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Pavelski in the three games.
When the Blues beat the Sharks 3-0 in Game 2 on Saturday night, the two teams combined for 132 penalty minutes, including 88 from a nasty brawl at the third-period buzzer that had three fights and two game misconducts. The question approaching Game 3 was whether the two Blues and Sharks would pick up where they left off Saturday at Scottrade Center.
There were a few scrums and no brawls — just an unaccustomed power-play surge from the Blues, who didnt score three times with the extra man in any of their 82 regular-season games.
Theres no doubt about it, we have to look at it and fix it, McLellan said of his teams penalty kill. Were not going to reinvent the wheel. Were going to do what we do and were going to do it better.
04.24.12Red Wings aim to even series in pivotal Game 4 vs. Preds
The Detroit Red Wings will try to even the best-of-seven Western Conference quarterfinals at two games apiece, when they host the Nashville Predators in a pivotal Game 4 tonight at Joe Louis Arena.
Detroit earned a split in the first two games in Nashville, but the Red Wings
fell behind 2-1 in this series after dropping Sundays Game 3 by a 3-2 score.
Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne turned in a stellar performance, stopping 41
shots to help his team bounce back from a 3-2 loss in Game 2. Rinne has
stopped 90-of-97 shots for a .928 save percentage in this series.
After going 31-7-3 as the home team this season, the fifth-seeded Red Wings
will need to win tonight or else face elimination when the series shifts back
to Nashville for Game 5 on Friday. Detroit was just 17-21-3 as the guest
during the regular season.
Kevin Klein had a goal and an assist for the fourth-seeded Predators on
Sunday, while Shea Weber and Sergei Kostitsyn also lit the lamp.
They had a great home record this year, Weber said. We knew it was going to
be a hard game right from the get-go.
Pavel Datsyuk had a goal and an assist for the Red Wings, while Henrik
Zetterberg also scored. Jimmy Howard turned aside 19-of-22 shots in defeat.
Lets be honest, if you look at the game, the puck didnt go in for us, Red
Wings head coach Mike Babcock said. It did for them and weve got to change
that next game.
Nashville, which had the NHLs top-rated power play during the regular season,
was able to score its first goal of this series with the man advantage on
Sunday. The Preds failed to score on 12 opportunities through the first two
games, but went 1-for-4 on the power play in Game 3.
Meanwhile, Detroit had killed off the last 37 power plays it had faced coming
into Sundays game.
We have to find a way to stay out of the box. It kind of kills your rhythm,
trying to get four lines going, Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom said.
On the injury front for Nashville, the club has played the first three games
without defenseman Hal Gill, who was acquired from Montreal before the trade
deadline to add depth to the blue line. The 6-foot-7 Gill is questionable for
tonights game with a lower-body injury.
The Predators, who have only made it past the first round of the playoffs once
in team history, are looking for their first playoff series victory
against the Red Wings in the third meeting between the clubs. The Central
Division rivals also met in the first round in 2004 and 08, with Detroit
taking both series in six games.
Carl Hagelin, Matt Carkner draw bans
GREENBURGH, NY — New York Rangers rookie left winger Carl Hagelin was suspended three games by the NHL for hitting Ottawa Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson up high with an elbow in Game 2 on Saturday night.
NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan called the hit, which occurred at 10:28 of the second period during the Senators 3-2 overtime victory over the Rangers at Madison Square Garden, a reckless strike to the side of Alfredssons head.
Also suspended Sunday was Senators defenseman Matt Carkner, who was banned one game for going after Rangers center Brian Boyle 2:15 into the first period of Game 2.
Hagelin texted Alfredsson after the game and apologized for the hit.
04.22.12
Fourth consecutive loss drops Rockets to ninth in West
HOUSTON — With the game and maybe the season on the line, Nuggets coach George Karl switched to a small lineup, spread the floor and challenged the Rockets to do something about it.
Rockets coach Kevin McHale countered with his small lineup. Unwilling to ask Samuel Dalembert — who had started with Marcus Camby out and blocked a season-high seven shots — to chase Danilo Gallinari or Al Harrington out to the 3-point line, McHale went instead with Luis Scola and Patrick Patterson and tried to outgun the Nuggets, the leagues top-scoring team.
04.22.12Toews a game-time decision vs. Coyotes
Another practice completed, another step closer for Jonathan Toews to return to the Blackhawks lineup.
The captain skated with teammates Tuesday afternoon and said afterward he will make the decision to play in Game 1 of the Western Conference quarterfinals against the Coyotes on Thursday night right before the game begins.
Im just waiting until game time on Thursday, Toews said of deciding whether he will play in his first game after missing the final 22 regular-season contests with a concussion. I feel good. Ive been making improvements and working on little things every single day so thats going to be the routine for the next little while.
Toews has been taking his time in the recovery after being cleared for contact and having passed NHL concussion protocols.
Compared with a couple of weeks ago, its night and day, the 23-year-old said of his recovery.Ive made huge progress and if I didnt I wouldnt be sitting here talking. Its been going good the past week. Im just taking as good a care of myself as I can. Its great when you see a difference every single day. Finally, those things Im doing are paying off and Im seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, I guess.
During practice, Toews again centered a line with wingers Patrick Kane on the left and Marian Hossa on the right.
ckuc@tribune.com
Twitter @ChrisKuc
04.22.12Bobcats lose franchise-worst 17th straight game
CHARLOTTE, NC — The Charlotte Bobcats appear to be a collision course with NBA futility.
The Bobcats lost a franchise-record 17th straight game 75-67 to New Orleans Monday night and took a step closer to finishing the season with the worst winning percentage in league history.
If the Bobcats fail to win any of their remaining games theyll finish with a .106 winning percentage, which would be worse than the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers, who finished 9-73 for a winning percentage of .110.
It would seem Charlottes best shot at a win is next Monday at Washington, the second-worst team in the league. However, that same Wizards team just throttled the Bobcats by 28 points in Charlotte last week, so the reality is Monday night might have been their best chance to win a game.
The whole year has been frustrating but this game was more frustrating because we really got ourselves up for this one, said Gerald Henderson, who finished with a game-high 27 points. It was a close game the whole game but we couldnt score. It was a struggle to score.
04.22.12LeBron’s 37 rally Heat past Nets
The only people who knew how to describe what they were seeing were the New Jersey fans.
MVP! MVP!
James scored Miamis final 17 points in a furious one-man rally, finishing with 37 as the Heat pulled out a 101-98 victory over the Nets on Monday night.
In a game the Heat never led until the final 51 seconds, James willed them to their 10th straight victory over the Nets. With Dwyane Wade resting, James scored those 17 points over the last 4:48 of a game that immediately goes into his personal collection of memorable finishes.
We were able to grind away and not let it go mentally, and that guy, No. 6, he was pretty good going down the stretch, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. He was sensational. Obviously, he made every big play offensively. I believe it was 17 straight to close the game. Thats what an MVP does and we needed it at both ends. But also on a night like this, you can come up with a lot of excuses to not bring that type of performance, but thats not the type of DNA he has inside of him. The Nets played well but we found a way at the end.
Actually, James did.
He wasnt sure he was going back in as the fourth quarter reached its midway point. But once he did, he pushed past the Nets with an array of layups, jumpers and free throws, pulling Miami within 2 1/2 games of Chicago for the Eastern Conference lead.
We want to win every last game to close it out, James said. We dont want to lose again the rest of the season. Ultimately we can to continue to get better.
04.21.12
Trending: Favorites struggle, Brown stars, rats fly
A pair of unpredictable deficits, the predictable Blues, the Kings terrific captain, the Flyers predicament, flying rats, a red-hot Ranger, and some tidbits on the competitive Bruins-Caps series is all in the second playoff edition of Trending this Week:
#FavoritesOnTheBrink
The Pittsburgh Penguins and Vancouver Canucks were the popular picks to reach the Stanley Cup Final. They both may bow out of the playoffs without winning a game.
This is a stunning development in the first week of the playoffs, but its not happening by accident.
The Penguins have struggled with their composure and discipline, not to mention their defense and goaltending, through three games against the Flyers. Theyve given up 20 goals in three games and have gotten absolutely blasted on special teams.
The Flyers have nine special-teams goals; the Penguins are 3-for-13 on the power play, but those goals have been negated by the Flyers three shorthanded goals.
Marc-Andre Fleury has been ineffective to the tune of a 6.34 goals-against average and .798 save percentage, but the Penguins havent exactly done much to help him. They have holes all over their defense and continue to give away the puck in the defensive zone.
The Canucks havent been worse than the Penguins, but that would be quite an achievement if they were. However, theyre in a 0-3 hole against the Kings because they havent generated enough quality scoring chances and their power play has totally abandoned them.
The latter has been a major problem since even before Daniel Sedin left the lineup with a concussion, but the 0-for-14 in this series is far more damaging than the 9-for-73 (12.3 percent) output over the final 23 games of the regular season. Theyre averaging just over one shot on goal per power play in the first three playoff games. Meanwhile, theyve given up 20 power-play opportunities, more than enough for the Kings to keep momentum regardless if they score.
Considering Daniel Sedin was cleared for contact and will practice Tuesday, its possible he returns to the lineup for Game 4 Wednesday (10 pm ET, NBCSN, CBC).
#BluesCruise
After a slow initiation back into the playoffs in a Game 1 overtime loss, the Blues are rolling now. They dominated the Sharks all over the ice until the final minutes in Game 3 on Monday and were able to win it 4-3 and take a 2-1 lead in the series. San Jose scored twice in the last 3:02 to make it interesting.
With a two-day break between Games 3 and 4, its a good time to dissect the reasons why the Blues have been so good in the last two games. Theyre not all that different from the reasons why they were so good in the regular season — goaltending, defense, timely offense, a strong penalty kill and a potent power play.
04.21.12
Panthers visit Devils with series tied 1-1
Fresh off their first postseason win in 15 years, the Florida Panthers will try to keep the momentum in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinals when they visit the New Jersey Devils for tonights Game 3 at Prudential Center.
The third-seeded Panthers are in the postseason for the first time since 2000
after winning the franchises first-ever Southeast Division title. Floridas
previous trip to the playoffs 12 years ago resulted in a sweep at the hands of
the Devils, but the Panthers ended an eight-game postseason losing streak with
a 4-2 victory in Sundays Game 2.
Stephen Weiss netted a pair of power-play goals to lead the Panthers to
Sundays victory, which evened this series at one win apiece. It was Floridas
first victory in the postseason since April 17, 1997 against the New York
Rangers in Game 1 of the conference quarterfinals. New York went on to win
that set in five games.
Its nice to get the monkey off your back, Weiss said about the Panthers
victory.
Weiss tallies were the first two playoff goals of his 10-year career. The
former first-round pick by Florida in the 2001 draft is in the playoffs for
the first time as an NHLer.
Marcel Goc and Tomas Fleischmann also lit the lamp for the Panthers, while
Jose Theodore made 23 saves for the win.
Florida hasnt won a road playoff game since it defeated the Pittsburgh
Penguins in Game 7 of the 1996 Eastern Conference finals. The Panthers were
17-17-7 as the guest during the 2011-12 regular season.
The Devils, meanwhile, will try to take control of this series in Newark,
where Thursdays Game 4 will also take place. New Jersey was 24-13-4 at the
Prudential Center this season.
Travis Zajac and Ilya Kovalchuk scored in Sundays loss for New Jersey, which
had its seven-game win streak — including the final six games of the regular
season — snapped.
Martin Brodeur, who won the 100th postseason game of his career in the series
opener, stopped 20-of-23 shots in defeat, falling to 5-1 in his career against
the Panthers in the playoffs..
I think when we play the way we are capable of playing were a better team
than them, said Zajac. We have just got to stick to our game and do what
makes us successful.
New Jersey did a nice job of getting back into Sundays game, as they entered
the third period trailing 3-0, but got on the board just 48 seconds into the
frame on Zajacs goal. Kovalchuk tallied just 1:14 later to cut the deficit to
3-2, but the score would stay that way until Fleischmann notched an empty-
netter with less than a second to play.
We didnt panic when they scored two quick goals. Thats playoff hockey right
there and you have got to stick with it and have confidence, said Theodore.
This is only the second playoff series between the Devils and Panthers,
following New Jerseys sweep in 2000.
Brewers resume four-game series with Cubs
Veteran lefty Chris Narveson can continue a career-long run of success against Chicago tonight when the Milwaukee Brewers visit the Cubs in the second of four games at Wrigley Field.
A 30-year-old Colorado native, Narveson is 6-1 in 13 career appearances – six
starts – against the Cubs with a 3.51 earned run average in 41 innings,
allowing 45 hits and striking out 40.
Hes 25-17 in 93 career appearances and won 11 games in 30 appearances – 28
starts – with the Brewers last season, his second as a full-time starter.
Narveson had made just five starts in 26 appearances in his initial two
seasons with St. Louis and Milwaukee, then opened 28 games for the Brewers in
2010, winning a career-high 12 games.
The Brewers won Mondays series opener, as Aramis Ramirez finished 1-for-3
and knocked in two runs in his first game back in Chicago since signing a
four-year deal in the offseason, and Milwaukee fought off a late rally from
the Cubs to take a 7-5 decision.
Ramirez, who played nine seasons in Chicago, hurt the Cubs early, but almost
handed his former club the game late, as his error in the ninth kept the
Chicago rally going and allowed the Cubs to score two runs in the frame before
closer John Axford shut the door with two big strikeouts to complete the save
and leave the bases full of Cubs.
Shaun Marcum (1-0) made the start for the Brewers, allowing three runs on five
hits while fanning five over six innings of work.
Rickie Weeks belted a solo home run, while Mat Gamel finished with two hits,
two runs scored and an RBI as Milwaukee improved to 2-2 after dropping two of
three to the Cardinals to open the season.
Shawn Camp (0-1) allowed three runs on five hits over two innings of work to
take the loss. Chris Volstad started his first game as a Cub after spending
the last four seasons with the Marlins, and yielded three runs on five hits
over his five innings.
Darwin Barney and Bryan LaHair each added solo shots for the Cubs, who began
the season by losing two of three to the Nationals.
For Chicago, lefty Paul Maholm makes his first start as a Cub after seven
seasons and 185 starts with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Maholm was 6-14 with the
Pirates in 26 starts last season, posting a 3.66 ERA in 162 1/3 innings and
striking out 97 batters.
He won a career-high 10 games with Pittsburgh in 2007.
The 29-year-old Mississippi native is 3-8 in 19 career starts against the
Brewers with a 4.45 ERA in 121 1/3 innings.
The Brewers lost five of seven in Chicago last season.
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