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The final of the Western Conference this year had been a back and forth between the Sharks and Blues until Sunday's fifth match, when the Blues became the first team to win matches consecutive in the series.
It was also a second consecutive victory pretty dominant for the Blues, who strangled the Sharks 5-0 in San Jose. Jaden Schwartz scored his second hat trick of the playoffs and goalkeeper Jordan Binnington stopped the 21 shots he faced to earn his first playoff game.
The Sharks were solid at home and managed to limit the Blues to just four shots in the first period, but St. Louis outscored the Sharks by a 36-10 margin over the next 40 minutes. It was a total domination of the Blues and a total embarrassment for the home team.
As a result, the series returns to St. Louis with the Blues able to win their ticket to the Stanley Cup final with a home win in Game 6.
Games on NBC, NBCSN and the US can be streamed on fuboTV (Free Trial).
NHL Playoffs for Sunday, May 19
- Game 5: FINAL – Blues 5, Sharks 0 | STL leads 3-2 | [Box score]
Blues keep their foot on the accelerator
Well, there was no sign of life for the Sharks in the third period. It was about the same as the Blues continued to dominate and demoralize San Jose. Jaden Schwartz added two more goals in the third period to secure his second hat trick of the playoffs and thus increase the Blues' lead to 5-0.
The Sharks also suffered a number of injuries in the third period. Erik Karlsson, Tomas Hertl, Joe Pavelski and Joonas Donskoi all missed some or all of the last period. It is safe to say that this match was a total and flawless disaster for the Sharks, who must now return to St. Louis with their season in play in Game 6.
The wheels fall for San Jose in second
Yeah, it was not a good time for the Sharks in the second position. They were in defensive mess and the Blues jumped on them. St. Louis doubled his lead when a shot from Vladimir Tarasenko was deflected and Martin Jones played the puck directly to Jaden Schwartz, who easily finished for the score 2-0.
Then Tarasenko escaped and got a penalty shot with a chance to do it 3-0. He did not miss this opportunity. Get a load of good time.
The shots were an incredible 20-6 in favor of the Blues in the second half, and the Sharks look to toast at this match. San Jose skates like someone who poured cement into his skates and they were totally disorganized on the ice. Not terrible in 40 minutes, but we'll see if they can show signs of life in the third.
St. Louis takes the lead in the first intermission
The Sundqvist goal was the only total of the first period, although several positions were sounded at both ends of the ice. It was a first physical period and, again, the Blues sought to inflict punishment as much as possible.
After 20 minutes, the Sharks lead shots (11-4) and scoring opportunities (8-5), but the Blues have a 1-0 lead on the scoreboard.
The fourth line of Blues continues to flourish
The fourth line of the Blues may well be the best line of this series so far and they once again took part in the chart Sunday. It's Oskar Sundqvist who opened the scoring just over five minutes after the start of the first period. Sundqvist managed to beat Martin Jones after a rotation of Erik Karlsson in the Sharks defensive zone.
This is a pretty bad Karlsson pass in Justin Braun's legs and, in addition, it suggests that Karlsson was able to look away from Jones on the shot.
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