St. Louis Blues desperate to fight back as they take on San Jose Sharks – NHL Playoff Preview
The San Jose Sharks ended their regular season campaign on a positive note after winning their last four games and successfully managed to carry the winning momentum into their first of the seven-game playoff series.
On the other hand, St. Louis Blues lost four of their last five games of the regular season and despite giving a tough competition to Sharks, they lost their first playoff game.
Both teams will play second game of the series on Saturday, April 14, 2012, at Scottrade Center, Saint Louis, Missouri.
The last meeting
Blues started the game as favourites, but Sharks completely stunned them.
The first period of the game went goalless and Sharks got their first scoring move of the game when Martin Havlat scored the only goal of the second period.
Blues, however, managed to get hold of the game in the third period when Patrik Berglund scored two goals to give them the lead.
Unfortunately, Blues were unable to defend properly and Andrew Desjardins provided the equaliser for the Sharks and forced the game to overtime in which Martin Havlat scored his second goal of the game to give Sharks the victory.
What are they thinking?
Berglund scored two goals, but his team still lost the game. However, he is optimistic about the second meeting of these two teams. He said:
"We'll be fine. We played some good hockey tonight. We still have a lot of confidence. We had a lot of chances to win this game. We just have to keep going at it. There's a lot of games to go."
Sharks, on the other hand, are anticipating Blues to come even more prepared. They are ready for another tough challenge. Sharks’ coach, Todd McLellan, said:
"We know that they'll be better, we know they'll change some things, they'll adjust in certain areas, and we have to do the same. Winning one and losing two gets you nothing, I think."
Predictions
Sharks won the first game, but Blues certainly have the ability to hit back and settle the score. Blues might win this one.
The sum of goals scored by both teams might stay under six.
If Sharks win, the winning margin will be less than two goals.
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