Written by Pierre LaBrun at ESPN.com
Nobody knows the San Jose Sharks better than their two California rivals.
Bruce Boudreau, while still coaching the Anaheim Ducks last month, was most afraid of one team entering the playoffs: the Sharks. He shared that with ESPN.com the day after the Sharks eliminated the Los Angeles Kings.
“Their speed,” Boudreau reiterated Tuesday night via text message. “Their young guys have come so far this year.”
The Sharks, you might argue, had no better tuneup for their Western Conference finals showdown with the St. Louis Blues than the team they beat in the opening round.
The Kings and Blues are two of the heavier teams in the West, and the speed that gave L.A. such headaches in the first round is now, through two games of the Western Conference finals, giving St. Louis issues as well.
“Similar,” Kings head coach Darryl Sutter said via text message Tuesday night when asked about that comparison. “Blues probably deeper on the back end. Think it’s going to be a long, even series.”
Well, it probably will be, given that the two teams split the two opening games here, but the Blues are mighty lucky they’re not down 2-0 with the series heading to San Jose on Thursday for Game 3.
They’ve been outplayed in two straight. They stole Game 1 but got a just result in Game 2.
“The first five periods weren’t necessarily us,” said Blues captain David Backes after the 4-0 loss Tuesday night. “We started to show some trends there in the third of what we do when we’re successful, of getting pucks deep, getting in on the forecheck and being physical down below their goal line. But if we’re going to try to play transition with their firepower and see who can skate faster and execute on 3-on-2s, that’s not how we’ve won games in the playoffs, not how we’ve won games all season.
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