Western Conference Quarter Finals Preview: Blues vs. Sharks

The St. Louis Blues had a season that their fans will remember and the've become relevant again by winning the central division and securing the number two seed all while flirting with the President's trophy, with Ken Hitchcock at the helm. On the other hand we have the San Jose Sharks who seemed to underachieve all year and needed a late season push to secure a spot.

#2 St. Louis Blues (49-22-11, 109PTS) vs. San Jose Sharks 43-29-10, 96PTS)

Game 1: April 12 At St. Louis 7:30PM EDT-CNBC

Game 2: At St. Louis 7:30PM EDT-CNBC

Game 3: At San Jose 10:00PM EDT-NBCSN

Game 4: At San Jose 10:30PM EDT-NBCSN

*Game 5: At St. Louis 7:30PM EDT-CNBC

*Game 6: At San Jose TBD

*Game 7: At San Jose TBD

The Blue not only swept the four games during the regular season, they held the Sharks to only three goals in the that game and posted two shutouts. San Jose won four straight to secure a spot in the postseason, and the Blues have cooled down in their last ten finishing the regular season 4-3-3.

Forwards

The Blues have no forwards that even flirt with the league lead in any category, yet, they managed to achieve a division title and were battling for the President's trophy.  David Backes is a threat at both ends of the ice and leads the team in goals in points. (24G 30A). And going down the lines, the Blues have spread out their scoring through all four lines. David Perron is the only other player to reach the 20 goal mark (21). 

The Sharks have a trio of 30 goal scorers in Logan Couture (31), Joe Pavelski (31), and Patrick Marleau (30), but no other players who've reached twenty goals.  Joe Thorton came close with 18 goals, but he leads the team with 77 points (18G 59A). 

Edge

On paper it would seem like Sharks have the advantage in the forward department, but this Sharks team has been an enigma at times in the offensive zone. You can't count out their top four scorers, who could make a difference in the playoffs. Then you have the Blues forwards, who aren't statistical giants. POFA will give the edge to the Sharks, because if their firepower gets rolling, it will be tough for the Blues to stop. 

Defensemen

The Blues have Alex Pietrangelo, who may be a Norris finalist, and is clearly the team's best defender. Pietrangelo had 51 points (19G 35A) during the regular season, and plays crucial minutes. 

The Sharks re-tooled their blue line before the season, adding Brent Burns, Colin White, and Jim Vandermeer. This provided the Sharks some depth that they were missing in last year's playoffs, and with guys like Dan Boyl, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Douglas Murray, and Jason Demers, the Sharks have enough pieces depth-wise to make it out of the first round.

Edge: Sharks. They are deeper than the Blues, and in the playoffs depth at the blue line wins games.

Goalies

The Blues may have a goaltending issue heading into the postseason.  Jaroslav Halak (26-12-7, 1.97 GAA, .926 SV%) and Brian Elliot (23-10-4, 1.56 GAA, .940 SV%) have been arguable the best duo in the league. Halak was given the number one spot early, but floundered, and then regained his form and his starting spot.

The Sharks will go with Antti Niemi (34-22-9, 2.42 GAA, .915 SV%) between the pipes. Not a stellar season by any means, but he is a goalie that can get hot when the pressure builds.

Edge: St. Louis. If Halak falters, Elliot will be there to pick up the pieces.  

Special Teams

The Blues finished the year ranked 19th on the power play (16.7%) and 7th on the PK (85.8%). San Jose finished the year ranked second on the power play (21.1%) 29th on the PK (76.9%)

Edge: Blues

POFA's Prediction

Blues in 7. This will be a battle. St. Louis is not the most impressive team in the league, but they find ways to win. Their defensive structure will give the Sharks headaches, and the Blues forwards should do enough to get the job done.