Sharks vs. Blues Preview: Looking to clinch a winning road trip
A win would guarantee the Sharks six out of 10 possible points on the trip.
After a not-so-pretty loss against Carolina on Friday, San Jose plays its fourth game of a five-game road trip in St. Louis. The Sharks will play the Blues one more time after tonight's contest, and there's always a (slim) chance the teams meet up again in the playoffs.
Possession-wise the teams are relatively even, with the Sharks holding a slight edge in Fenwick. The Blues have the best penalty kill percentage in the NHL and are fifth in the league in even strength save percentage. I think we're all painfully aware of where San Jose sits on that list. So the Blues are a tough team to score against, a category the Sharks have been pretty good in this season.
While first place is still very much a possibility for the Sharks, the team only needs one point over the next two games to guarantee a .500 points percentage on the road swing. Not bad.
Tale Of The Tape
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31-21-5 | Record | 35-17-9 |
3rd in Pacific | Rank | 3rd in Central |
52.8% | Score-Adj. Fenwick | 51.7% |
100 | PDO | 100.7 |
22.2 | PP% | 20.6 |
80.5 | PK% | 87.1 |
5PM PDT | Scottrade Center | St. Louis, MO.
TV: NBCSN, SNO, SNW, SNP | Radio: SJSharks.com, 98.5 KFOX
Know Your Enemy: St. Louis Game Time
Last Meeting
A pair of second-period goals paced the Sharks over the Blues in their first meeting of the season.
Storylines
- San Jose got a couple days off after playing three games in four days. We'll see how fresh the team looks in St. Louis.
- St. Louis has the best penalty kill percentage in the NHL, which should make this a good strength-vs-strength matchup.
- The Blues have won five in a row and seven of their last nine./