NHL Playoffs: Sharks vs. Blues Game 5, 6-3: Full recap

The Sharks came out strong losing to the Blues in Game 4, outplaying and ultimately defeating their hosts by a longshot.

The St. Louis Blues dropped Game 5 at home, losing to the San Jose Sharks 6-3.

The frustration and tension of both teams came to a boil in Game 5, leading to headstrong play and impulsive aggression on all sides. Special teams continued to play a significant role in the game, with teams scoring on power plays throughout the game. Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Joel Ward (2), and Joe Pavelski (2) and Chris Tierney (empty net) are credited with San Jose’s five goals. The Blues  got three goals from Jaden Schwartz, Troy Brouwer and Robby Fabbri but were unable to catch up to the Sharks, who were two goals ahead with less than a minute remaining in regulation.

The back-to-back goals, the neck-and-neck playing, suggests that in five games, the Sharks and the Blues have figured each other out and will fight to the death to get ahead.

Three Stars

C Joe Pavelski (SHARKS)
Pavelski scored two goals in two shots on goal and added an assist.

C Robby Fabbri (BLUES)
Fabbri scored one goal on two shots on goal—even though his pregame injury made him questionable for Game 5. 

C Joe Thornton (SHARKS)
Thornton added three assists during Game 5. 

Highlights

Marc-Edouard Vlasic goal, assisted by Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton at 3:51 into the first period. In somewhat of an awkward position, Blues Allen seemed to think he caught the puck, or perhaps didn’t even see where it actually was flying. Stupefied, it took moments for him to realize the puck soared passed him into the corner of the net.

There was confusion with this goal early on; it was originally credited to Tomas Hertl, with the claim that the puck ultimately deflected off of his shot. However, a second look clarified that Vlasic was, in fact, responsible for the goal.

Jaden Schwartz ended his 13 game drought, scoring 7:04 into the first period with assists from captain David Backes and Patrik Berglund.

Troy Brouwer demonstrated his impressive power, scoring with less than five minutes remaining in the first period.

In the second period, however, the Sharks’ second power play unit got the job done. Joel Ward snuck the puck passed Allen, tying the game at two a piece. The Sharks at 8-2 scoring on a power play in this postseason.

Following suit, Robby Fabbri scored his first goal of the series on the Blues’ first power play of the game, assisted by fellow rookie Colton Parayko and Alex Pietrangelo. The goal pushed St. Louis ahead 3-2.

But the Sharks wouldn’t have let the Blues off so easily. With less than two minutes remaining in the second, Pavelski scored on the Sharks’ power play.

He scored again less than 30 seconds into the third period, once again putting the Sharks in the lead at 4-3. Pavelski heads to the top of the NHL with 12 goals and 21 points this postseason.

Chris Tierney and Joel Ward put in the Sharks’ final goals of Game 5, scoring on an empty net with less than a minute remaining in regulation.

The Sharks are now one game away from moving on to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in franchise history.

Next Game

The series returns to San Jose on Wednesday, May 25 for Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals. The game will be aired on NBC Sports Network at 9:00 PM ET.

For more NHL Playoffs coverage, check out our NHL hub page.