We'll transition over to having series posts for the conference finals and Stanley Cup series, and this post will cover the San Jose Sharks versus the St. Louis Blues for the Western Conference finals.
Game 1: SAP Center, San Jose, California. In goal: Martin Jones for the Sharks and Jordan Binnington for the Blues. San Jose led off in the first period with a Logan Couture goal, his tenth of the postseason, assisted by Gustav Nyquist and Timo Meier. St. Louis tied it on a Joel Edmundson goal, via Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko. The Sharks took the lead back with a Joe Pavelski power play goal, his fourth of the playoffs, powered by Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson. San Jose added on in the second period with a Kevin Labanc goal, his fourth of the postseason, coming off of Joe Thornton. The Blues got one back with a Ryan O'Reilly goal, his third of the playoffs, fueled by David Perron and Sammy Blais. The Sharks countered with a Meier goal, his fourth of the postseason, guided in by Couture. San Jose extended the lead as Meier scored his second of the game and fifth of the playoffs, helped along by Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Nyquist. St. Louis pulled one back with a Tyler Bozak goal, his third of the postseason, courtesy of Pat Maroon and Vince Dunn. The Sharks iced it at 6-3 with a Couture empty net goal, his second of the game and eleventh of the playoffs, set up by Pavelski and Evander Kane. The three stars were Meier, Couture, and Nyquist, while Pavelski gets an honorable mention. The Sharks own a 1-0 series lead.
Game 2: SAP Center, San Jose, California. In goal: Martin Jones for the Sharks and Jordan Binnington for the Blues. St. Louis began in the first period with a Jaden Schwartz goal, his ninth of the postseason, coming off of Vladimir Tarasenko and Joel Edmundson. The Blues added on with a Vince Dunn goal, his second of the playoffs, fueled by Ryan O'Reilly and David Perron. San Jose got on the board with a shorthanded and unassisted Logan Couture goal, his twelfth of the postseason. The Sharks tied it on another Couture goal, his second of the game and thirteenth of the playoffs, via Timo Meier. St. Louis regained the lead on a Robert Bortuzzo goal, assisted by Edmundson and Tyler Bozak. The Blues extended the lead as Oskar Sundqvist scored his third of the postseason, thanks to Alexander Steen and Alex Pietrangelo. This made it 4-2, the final, with the three stars being Couture, Bortuzzo, and Edmundson. The series heads east to St. Louis tied at 1 game apiece.
Game 3: Enterprise Center, St. Louis, Missouri. In goal: Jordan Binnington for the Blues and Martin Jones for the Sharks. San Jose started in the first period with an unassisted Erik Karlsson goal. The Sharks added on with a Joe Thornton goal, his third of the postseason, via Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Kevin Labanc. St. Louis got on the board with an Alexander Steen goal, his second of the playoffs, guided in by Ivan Barbashev in the second period. San Jose replied with another Thornton goal, his second of the game and fourth of the postseason, helped along by Labanc and Brenden Dillon. The Blues pulled back on a Vladimir Tarasenko goal, his sixth of the playoffs, fueled by Brayden Schenn and Colton Parayko. St. Louis tied it with a David Perron goal, his fourth of the postseason, coming off of Parayko and Joel Edmundson. The Blues pulled ahead on a Perron power play goal, his second of the game and fifth of the playoffs, powered by Pat Maroon and Parayko, the latter earning a sock trick. The Sharks tied it again in the third period with a Logan Couture goal, his fourteenth of the postseason, courtesy of Joe Pavelski and Thornton. San Jose won 5-4 in overtime with a Karlsson goal, his second of the game, with helpers from Gustav Nyquist and Timo Meier. The three stars went to Karlsson, Thornton, and Parayko, while Perron and Labanc get the honorable mentions. The Sharks regained the series lead at 2-1.
Game 4: Enterprise Center, St. Louis, Missouri. In goal: Jordan Binnington for the Blues and Martin Jones for the Sharks. St. Louis opened in the first period with an unassisted Ivan Barbashev goal. The Blues added on with a Tyler Bozak power play goal, his fourth of the postseason, powered by Pat Maroon and Vladimir Tarasenko. San Jose got on the board in the third period with a Tomas Hertl power play goal, his tenth of the playoffs, with helpers from Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson. The final remained at 2-1, with the three stars given to Binnington (29 for 30 in saves), Bozak, and Barbashev. The series heads west again tied at 2 games apiece.
Game 5: SAP Center, San Jose, California. In goal: Martin Jones for the Sharks and Jordan Binnington for the Blues. St. Louis struck first in the first period with an Oskar Sundqvist goal, his fourth of the postseason, going in unassisted. The Blues added on with a Jaden Schwartz goal in the second period, his tenth of the playoffs, an unassisted goal. St. Louis extended the lead as Vladimir Tarasenko scored his seventh of the postseason on a penalty shot. The Blues padded the lead in the third period with a Schwartz power play goal, his eleventh of the playoffs, powered by David Perron and Tarasenko. St. Louis capped it at 5-0 with a Schwartz goal to finish his hat trick with his twelfth of the postseason, with a lone assist by Tarasenko. The three stars were Schwartz, Tarasenko, and Binnington (21 save shutout). The Blues return home with a 3-2 series lead.
Game 6: Enterprise Center, St. Louis, Missouri. In goal: Jordan Binnington for the Blues and Martin Jones for the Sharks. St. Louis drew first blood in the first period with a David Perron goal, his sixth of the postseason, coming off of Sammy Blais and Ryan O'Reilly. The Blues added on with a Vladimir Tarasenko power play goal, his eighth of the playoffs, powered by Colton Parayko and O'Reilly. San Jose got on the board with a Dylan Gambrell goal, via Joonas Donskoi and the goalie Jones in the second period. St. Louis countered with a Brayden Schenn power play goal, his second of the postseason, with assists provided by Alex Pietrangelo and Robert Thomas. The Blues extended the lead in the third period as Tyler Bozak scored his fifth of the playoffs, thanks to Perron and O'Reilly. St. Louis capped it at 5-1 with an Ivan Barbashev empty net goal, his second of the postseason, set up by Oskar Sundqvist. The three stars were O'Reilly, Perron, and Binnington (25 for 26 in saves). The Blues won the series 4-2 and will take on the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup Finals.
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