St. Louis Blues looking to advance in Game 5 over San Jose Sharks -NHL Playoffs Preview
Having won two straight at the HP Pavilion in San Jose against Sharks to take a dominating 3-1 lead in the 2012 National Hockey League (NHL) Stanley Cup Playoffs Western Conference Quarterfinal series, St. Louis Blues is definitely looking to advance when
it comes down to Game 5.
Blues have just been playing exceptionally well and are on route to eliminating San Jose in the opening round of the postseason, something definitely new for the Sharks as they saw the Western Conference Finals for the past two years.
One thing St. Louis does realise is that San Jose will not be giving up Game 5 without a fight and head coach, Ken Hitchcock is definitely prepared to take that challenge on with full force.
"They're not going quietly," Hitchcock said. "We recognize how close these games are and how hard the next one's going to be. But this is a new experience for us. I think dealing with the pressure of winning and closing a team out, we're going to have to
work through it."
It will be extremely rare if the San Jose Sharks manage to jump back and win the series in Game 7, but with all the odds against them at the moment, it does not look like they are willing to give it a try.
Sharks have never won a Stanley Cup championship in franchise history and losing in the opening round will not make life for them any easier. Failing to get into the Stanley Cup Finals for two straight seasons was one thing, but not getting past the first
round now is just sheer disappointment.
St. Louis also has history to make as they saw a last playoff win against Chicago Blackhawks nearly 10 years ago.
"I don't think anybody believes we're going to do it, which is fine," St. Louis Blues forward, Dan Boyle, said. "It's going to be a tough task. We all know that. It's going to be a very difficult task, but it can be done. It's not impossible."
Returning home for a possible chance to eliminate San Jose, Blues will be doing anything in their power to move on quickly when Game 5 starts on Saturday, April 21, 2012, at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri, at 7:30 PM ET.
Prediction:
St. Louis Blues will grab an early lead and win the match by two or more goals.
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