Written by Jeremy Rutherford at St.Louis Post Dispatch
Whatever it was, turning to goaltender Jake Allen or switching up the line combinations, it worked for the Blues in Game 4.
A club that had been dominated by San Jose in Games 2 and 3, shut out in both, woke up with a 6-3 win over the Sharks at SAP Center Saturday.
The best-of-seven series looked like it was on the verge of being busted wide open, but suddenly it’s tied at two games apiece and headed back to St. Louis for Game 5 Monday.
There was some doubt back home about whether fans had seen the last of a team that looked capable of hoisting the Stanley Cup, but with their backs against the boards, they responded with their sixth road win of the playoffs in a game that had a must-win feel.
“There was (some doubt)?” Blues forward Alexander Steen asked. “We’ve dealt with this for a long time, it’s nothing new to us. What’s important is what we can control inside the boards and in this room. We faced a lot of ups and downs throughout the season. We had a good meeting yesterday and talked about the adjustments we want to make and came out and made them.”
The Blues broke out with six goals, tripling their offensive output in the first three games of the series. They had two goals in each period Saturday, with Troy Brouwer and Kyle Brodziak accounting for two apiece and Jori Lehtera and Alex Pietrangelo adding the others in a game in which San Jose goalie Martin Jones was sent to the showers early.
But the story going into Game 4 was in the other net, where a controversial coaching move put Allen in the crease in place of Brian Elliott and seemed to get the Blues’ attention. Allen finished with 31 saves Saturday, losing his shutout in the third period when the Sharks struck for all three of their goals.
To continue reading this article, click here.
