The St. Louis Blues came into the SAP Center with their fate in their own hands. They had games against teams ahead of them on the docket and the best post-Olympic point percentage of any of the teams contending for a wild-card spot.
However, the Blues have been inconsistent, at best, on the road. They were decent away from home early in the season, but have developed a habit of crashing and burning after a solid home stand lately.
Initially, it seemed like the momentum would carry over. The Blues struck first at 5:28 with Theo Lindsetein getting his first in the NHL.
Jimmy Snuggerud was stopped after a laser, but the Blues kept it alive off the rebound. As they cycled around, Jake Neighbours found Lindstein on the left circle and a nice wrister cut across the grain for a 1-0 lead.
Unfortunately, that would almost be the end of the offense. The Blues got that goal on their second shot of the game and ended the period with four shots.
The Sharks' power play would go to work. They took a 2-1 lead with two consecutive power play goals after a delay of game led to an Alexander Wennberg goal and then Macklin Celebrini scored five minutes later for the lead.
The Blues tied it up on just their third shot on goal. This was a beautiful setup with a turnover leading to a second assist from Neighbours as he found Pavel Buchnevich for the tip on the right.
While St. Louis did a great job of guarding Celebrini in these two's last game, it would not be the same this time. Celebrini got his second of the game with just 56 seconds left in the first to give the home team a 3-2 lead.
Although the Blues killed off 37 seconds of the Sharks' power play early in the second period, they wouldn't be so lucky the next time they got a full two minutes. The Sharks made the score 4-2 with another power play goal roughly midway through the game. It was Wennberg again, giving him a second goal.
The Blues seemed lost until they finally had some consecutive good shifts late in the period. Their ability to move their skates finally earned them a power play they could utilize. The pressure capitalized as St. Louis banged in a late effort with Philip Broberg getting St. Louis on the board with the PP goal and a 4-3 score just moments away from intermission.
The third period opened up with several rushes both ways. The Blues kept fanning on their chances: meanwhile, Joel Hofer had to bail the Note out with a big cross-ice save to keep St. Louis within one in the early going.
Three minutes in, the chances kept coming. Hofer denied a partial breakaway, and then the Blues got robbed with a sliding save the other way.
The game calmed down a bit, but both teams were keeping the speed going. St. Louis' speed led to a power play when their goalie got called for tripping Dylan Holloway.
Despite good possession, the Blues weren't getting much done in the first minute of the man advantage. Then Cam Fowler, who had a tougher game and has had a rough season, was the potential hero as he scored the power play goal to tie it with 7:07 left.
Lindstein almost got his second with six minutes left. A diving glove save kept that out, and the Blues couldn't get another goal off despite a couple of potential chances on the cycle.
It was not a period for the faint of heart. A game that hadn't been tilted the Blues' way much was suddenly wide open. The Blues kept having chances, but couldn't get that go-ahead goal.
Then, another bounce went the wrong way. Another puck went off Logan Mailloux, sprang a rush the other way, and Adam Gaudette barely snuck one through the five hole, and they won it 5-4.
Con: Penalty kill
While the Blues' penalty kill had been one of the best in the league since the Olympics ended, it was not great in this one. You could argue the validity of the penalties the bottom line is that special teams did not get it done.
The mere fact of giving up three goals is just not good. The only thing that partially saved the PK was the fact that they killed off that early second period, 37 seconds.
Still, that only happened because the Blues took a penalty when they were on the power play. Maybe the Sharks' goals were lucky, but it was a combination of luck one way and a failure to create pressure on the puck handlers on the other side.
Pro: Lindstein
From a defensive standpoint, there wasn't much good or bad for Theo Lindstein. Still, when you get your first NHL goal, it's something to remember.
The setup was just as good as the goal, but the goal was a prime example of how the young defenseman has been more than willing to jump into the play and get shots. This time, the difference was that it went in.
It was an elite shot, too. You'd expect any sniper to pick out that far side, cutting it back towards the blocker, and Lindstein did just that. I don't expect this guy to be the next Cale Makar, but he's going to get some points.
Con: Mailloux
Like the power play, Logan Mailloux has been one of the best Blues since the break. The combination of him and Broberg has been fantastic.
Things just didn't go Mailloux's way in this game. He was on the ice for all three of the Sharks' first three goals.
The first was just bad luck. The puck went off him before he could react and fell straight to Wennberg.
The second was even worse luck. Mailloux was right where he needed to be - in front of the net, guarding his man and not screening the goalie. Unfortunately, the shot was likely heading wide and happened to bank in off Mailloux's shin pad.
Mailloux was right in front for the third goal. The only drawback for him was that he was flat-footed, so he could do nothing but try to stop Celebrini's shot with a stick, and that didn't work.
By the time the third period started, Mailloux was only minus-1, so it helped his stats, but it was a rough game for the up-and-coming defender.
Con: Hofer
This game does not fall on Joel Hofer. He kept the Blues in it right until the end.
Unfortunately, it was the end when he couldn't get it done. That final goal for the Sharks just cannot go in.
When he's made save after save all game, and then a little, sneaky trickler ends up being the game-deciding goal, it almost feels unfair. Especially when the Blues were the better team in the third, it just wasn't typical of Hofer to let something like that sneak by.
Overview:
This game was a killer, both for the team and for those who stayed up to watch it. Not only were they robbed of a point, but they lost to a team in direct competition with them.
The Blues and Sharks came in tied in points, with San Jose having a game in hand. Now the Sharks are two points up in the standings, and they still have a game in hand.
This was all but a must-win for the Blues. They knew they could still have some hiccups, but you don't want to start a road trip with this kind of game.
The Blues were fortunate to even be in it. They were pretty dreadful in the first period and somehow kept themselves alive with two goals on four total shots.
The penalty kill did them in. If you stop even one of those power plays for the Sharks, the Blues probably win this game. Instead, it was just too much to overcome.
The Blues we saw in the third period were much closer to what they've done since the break ended. However, as we've seen all season, it's a mental thing. You can't take half a game off and expect a push at the very end to be enough. Not all teams buckle under those pushes, and the Sharks found a way to get it done.
The fact that the goal went in during the final minute was a harsh reality. Hofer just has to stop that. I don't know if he was thinking there would be a pass, but that shot has no business going in.
This was an entertaining game to watch, so I'm not going to dog on the team too much, but this is a bad loss. They played well enough, in spurts, to win, but lost in regulation to a team that you're battling with for a potential playoff spot.
Now, the Blues have to be almost perfect down the stretch. There are nine games left, and you'll probably need about seven or eight wins to reach the playoffs. It's not impossible, but it would have been easier to win this game and hope the hiccup came later.
All they can do now is hit the reset button and start a new streak on Wednesday.