With a win over the St. Louis Blues (36-25-6, 3rd Central) today, the hosting San Jose Sharks (40-19-8, 2nd Pacific) can bypass the Calgary Flames for first place in the Pacific division. The Flames, idle until they host the Vegas Golden Knights tomorrow, sit a single paltry point ahead of our Sharks, ripe for the overtaking. All the Sharks have to do is beat the plummeting Blues, who have underachieved all season to the point that they sit third in the Central. Wait, does that say third? What happened? Jordan Binnington? Is that Craig Berube’s butler? After a headline breaking disastrous start the season, the Blues have turned their fortunes 180 degrees and, with a 15-3-1 record in their last 19 games, will pose a serious challenge to a Sharks team that looked sleepy and sloppy in their 5-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday. If there’s hope for the Sharks at all, it’s that the shine seems to be finally wearing off of this year’s Andrew Hammond, as St. Louis has allowed four or more goals in three of their last four games, the lone standout being Thursday’s 4-0 shut out of the Los Angeles Kings (a game Jake Allen started). Binnington started two of those three games, and is likely to start again today, after his magical run stole the job away from Allen, a man away from whom jobs seem prone to being stolen. The Sharks are on a run of their own, however, and their 12-3-1 record in their last 16 has been enough to overcome what was a nigh-insurmountable gap between them and the first place Flames a few weeks ago. Calgary did their part, no doubt, failing to record a single point in their last four games, but the Sharks have outscored their opponents 14-7 in three straight wins, as offense has been the key to their success all season long. The Joe Thornton watch continues apace as well, as the gentle giant is one point shy of tying Stan Mikita for 14th place on the NHL’s all time points list at 1467. A point-per-game player in his last 13 appearances (4-9-13), the odds are pretty good that Thornton hits yet another milestone in a season full of them. Goals will need to come early and often if the Sharks are to overcome a Blues team that seems hell-bent on making some serious noise this year, but with the offensive talent boasted by this San Jose team, they should be more than up for the challenge. Lines Sharks #SJSharks projected lines for today’s afternoon game against the streaking #STLBlues. No word on Kane’s availability. pic.twitter.com/7aoQgNT5Mv — Fear the Swedes (@fearthefin) March 9, 2019 Expected scratches: Joakim Ryan, Lukas Radil, Dylan Gambrell Injured reserve: Erik Karlsson (groin), Evander Kane (undisclosed) As reported earlier this week, Karlsson is likely out of the Sharks’ lineup until the post-season or just prior. There has been no work on Kane’s availability just yet, but you’ll know as soon as we do. Blues (via NHL.com) Brayden Schenn — Ryan O’Reilly — Vladimir Tarasenko Pat Maroon — Tyler Bozak — Robert Thomas Jaden Schwartz — Oskar Sundqvist — Alexander Steen Mackenzie MacEachern — Ivan Barbashev — Sammy Blais Joel Edmundson — Alex Pietrangelo Jay Bouwmeester — Colton Parayko Vince Dunn — Robert Bortuzzo Jordan Binnington Jake Allen Expected scratches: Zach Sanford, Robby Fabbri, Michael Del Zotto Injured reserve: David Perron (upper body) Head coach Berube has declined to clarify who he’ll start in net this afternoon, but all signs point to Binnington. Allen has started five games of the team’s last 21, and all of them have been back-to-back situations. We all know by now that today is Brent Burns’ birthday, but you may not know that it’s also Mackenzie MacEachern’s. Maybe let him have one or two, he seems like a sweet boy. Where to watch Puck drop is at 1:00 p.m. Pacific/3:00 p.m. Central at your very own SAP Center in sunny(ish) San Jose. The game will be broadcast on NBC Sports California in the bay area, Fox Sports Midwest in the river city, and the NHL Network everywhere else. For the dulcet tones of radio hockey, tune into 98.5 KFOX in San Jose or through the Sharks App. Due to the early start time and our pesky loving families, there will not be a running liveblog, but check back here at puck drop and throughout the game for the regular festivities of the gamethread. Bake ‘em away, toys.<doc-sep>Kevin Labanc scores in OT, Sharks beat Blues 3-2 St. Louis Blues goalie Jake Allen blocks a shot from the San Jose Sharks in the third period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 9, 2019, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot) SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- The San Jose Sharks were feeling a playoff vibe, and Kevin Labanc fed off it. Labanc scored at 3:21 of overtime, Timo Meier had two goals and San Jose beat the St. Louis Blues 3-2 on Saturday to take the Western Conference lead. Labanc scored his 12th goal off assists from Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl. ''You're fighting for every inch of ice,'' Labanc said. ''It was relentless. They had a couple chances, we had a couple chances. It was a really even game, I'd say. It was a lot of fun to play in. We're going to be expecting the last 13, 14 games to be like this, so we got to be ready. Just start getting ready for that playoff-like hockey.'' Meier extended his goals streak to four games to help San Jose win its fourth straight and move a point ahead of the idle Pacific Division rival Calgary. The Sharks are 13-3-1 in their last 17 games. ''It feels good,'' Couture about. ''It means that we've come a long way. Not too long ago, it was December there, we were going through some tough times as a team and we weren't anywhere near the top of the conference. It means that we've found our game and we've played up to our capabilities.'' The 23-year-old Labanc had his eighth career game-winner. ''I thought it was a playoff type game out there. I thought there wasn't a lot of room,'' Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. ''I thought both teams defended hard, played hard. There was a real edginess to the game as far as the battles went and things like that. It was a hard-fought game.'' Brayden Schenn and Pat Maroon scored for the Blues. St. Louis lost for the third time in five games after going 13-1-1 in its previous 15. The Blues tied it at 2 with 2.1 seconds left in the second period on Schenn's power-play goal. ''It was nice to get one right at the end of the period,'' Blues goalie Jake Allen said. ''It sort of gives you some momentum going into the third and obviously creates a different mindset in locker room right after the second intermission. We're not chasing the game anymore, we're right there and one more goal and we're up. It was a great goal by (Schenn).'' Story continues St. Louis scored midway through the first period on Maroon's power-play goal. San Jose took a 2-1 lead on Meier's 25th and 26th goals in the last four minutes of the first period. Meier tied it with a power play goal at 16:23 of the first period and put the Sharks ahead with 27 seconds left. The 22-year-old Meier set the single-season goals scored record for a Swiss-born player. Martin Jones had 17 saves for San Jose. Blues goalie Jake Allen had 30 saves in a rare second straight start after getting the shutout in a 4-0 win against Los Angeles on Thursday night. Allen has played behind rookie standout Jordan Binnington most of the season. Allen made several tough saves, including stopping a Marcus Sorensen breakaway late in the game. ''He was excellent,'' Blues interim coach Craig Berube said. ''We got a little loose there at the end of the third and he stopped a couple of big scoring opportunities to get us a point.'' NOTES: St. Louis F Vladimir Tarasenko was out with an upper body injury. His status is day to day. ... Jaden Schwartz moved up to the first line to take Tarasenko's spot and Zach Sanford came off the bench to take Schwartz's spot on the third line.. ... Sharks F Evander Kane (mid-body injury) and All-Star D Erik Karlsson (groin) both missed their fourth straight games. ... Labanc played in his 200th career game. ... Sharks C Joe Thornton moved into a tie with Stan Mikita for 14th on the all-time points list (1,467). UP NEXT Blues: Host Arizona on Tuesday night. Sharks: At Minnesota on Monday night. --- More AP NHL: www.apnews.com/NHL and www.twitter.com/AP-Sports<doc-sep>This was one of those three-point games that everyone except for the two teams playing hates to see, especially this time of year. With a 3-2 overtime win over the St. Louis Blues, the San Jose Sharks pick up that very important extra point, catapulting them over the Calgary Flames for the top spot in the Pacific Division and the Western Conference — at least for now. The Blues, meanwhile, keep from slipping into a wild card position and hang on to that third spot in the Central Division. Once again tonight, San Jose’s youth shined through. Kevin Labanc scored the overtime winner with helpers from Tomas Hertl and Logan Couture. Timo Meier scored the team’s two regulation goals. In net, Martin Jones was not a rock star, but he did what he had to do when he had to do it. Jones stopped 17 of the 19 shots he faced for a .895 save percentage on the night. While it’s not ideal, he did hold the Blues to that two goals or fewer sweet spot that seems to lead to most of the Sharks’ wins this season. As a testament to how he looked on the ice, Jones earned the second star of the day. Allen, who ended the game with 30 saves and a .909 save percentage, earned the third star. For those keeping score, Meier with his two goals, claimed the first star. When it comes to possession, it’s a lot like you would expect from two teams that are playoff bound. Looking at score- and venue-adjusted Corsi at 5-on-5 (courtesy of Natural Stat Trick), the Blues started strong, then the Sharks took control, then the Blues saw a bit of a resurgence, but ultimately, the Sharks were all over them. Looking at the heat map, the Sharks did a pretty good job of restricting the shots on net to the area above the dots. The trouble is, when the Blues did manage to sneak in close, there were some dangerous chances. Both goals for the Blues were shots from practically in the goal crease. The other problem for the Sharks, both of the Blues’ goals came on the power play. St. Louis went two for three on the power play. The Sharks went one for two on the man-advantage. The Sharks were the beneficiaries of the first power play of the game. Joe Pavelski drew a tripping call in the Blues’ offensive zone. The Sharks went to work and had a few good looks, but couldn’t get it past Jake Allen, who pitched a shutout on Thursday against the Los Angeles Kings. It was a sign of things to come. The Sharks had a number of good looks and plenty of sustained zone time, but could not beat Allen. Tempers flared around the 9:00 mark of the first period. Marcus Sorensen made a nice stick lift in the neutral zone and picked up the puck. He went the other way, but the Sharks were offside entering the zone. Mackenzie MacEachern hit Sorensen a split second after the whistle and No. 20 took exception. He laid one too many cross-checks on MacEachern and was told to sit for two minutes. Patrick Maroon scored the team’s first power play goal on that power play with assists from Colton Parayko and Vincent Dunn. Jones made the initial save, but Maroon was right there on the doorstep. He was the one with the quickest hands and it went in. 1-0, Blues. Instead of pushing back to try and tie the game, the Sharks took another penalty. This time it was Kevin Labanc headed to the box for high sticking. San Jose killed the penalty, but St. Louis had the momentum and it was an uphill battle to get it back. But when you’re in trouble, call on Captain America. Pavelski drew another penalty, this time when Joel Edmundson was called for holding the stick. The Sharks had some great looks on the power play and finally managed to put one past Allen. With some sustained zone time, Tim Heed put a shot on net from the point. Joe Thornton picked up the rebound on the end boards and then found Timo Meier below the dots. Meier beat Allen to tie up the game. With the primary assist, Thornton tied Stan Mikita on the all-time points list with 1,467. With less than a minute to play in the period, the top line of Logan Couture, Pavelski and Meier were back on the ice. After picking the puck up in their own zone, they took it all the way down to the other end. Behind the St. Louis net, Couture dished a no look, behind the back pass to Meier, who was once again below the dots. Meier did some quick work with his hands and beat Allen. We would like to formally request Pacific Standard Time be changed to Pacific Timo Time #Timo2Times pic.twitter.com/vzYwx4VGgF — Sharks on NBCS (@NBCSSharks) March 9, 2019 The Sharks finished off the first period with a 2-1 lead. San Jose had a number of chances to extend the lead in the second period, but could not find the back of the net. The team controlled the play for the first 15 minutes of the period. Randy Hahn’s voice got all high and excited a number of times, but there was no goal for the Sharks. The Blues had some opportunities of their own and really started pushing back in the final five minutes of the period. Zach Sanford had a couple of opportunities stopped by Jones. But the real trouble came with 90 seconds left in the period when Tomas Hertl was called for hooking. The Blues had about a minute of extra time before the Sharks managed to touch the puck and the penalty was called. With Hertl in the box and less than 30 seconds on the clock, the Sharks’ penalty killers iced the puck and it looked as though San Jose would escape the period unscathed. However, Tyler Bozak had other plans. He brought the puck into the Sharks’ zone and then dropped it back to Brayden Schenn. Schenn drove the net and took a shot. Barclay Goodrow made the initial stop, but as Goodrow tried to clear it, Schenn took the puck right off Goodrow’s stick and shot it past Jones. The ol' pass it to your opponent so he can assist on your goal trick. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/QxrKyoTytG — St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) March 9, 2019 The goal came with just 2.1 seconds left in the second period. The third period had some great chances and saves on both ends of the ice, but neither team managed to score. Check out this breakaway by Sorensen that was shut down by Allen: It was just one of the impressive saves Allen made in the game and it was what kept the score tied when time expired. In overtime, it was more scoring chances and more great saves until the 3:21 mark, when Hertl held onto the puck in the neutral zone to allow the Sharks time to make a change. He dished it across ice to Labanc, who crossed into the Blues’ zone and then immediately passed it to Couture. Couture passed it back and Labanc beat Allen up high. In the words of Porky Pig, “That’s all folks.” The Sharks hit the road. Their next game is on Monday in Minnesota against the Wild. Game time is 5 p.m. PT. The Blues will play on Tuesday in Arizona against the Coyotes.<doc-sep>
Three years ago this May, the San Jose Sharks and the St. Louis Blues met in the Western Conference Final. Right now, these two teams are both firing on all cylinders down the stretch and could find themselves in another playoff meeting this summer. Both teams are surging at the right time. The Sharks (40-19-8) have 88 points and are second in the Pacific Division. More importantly, they have moved within one point of the Calgary Flames for the top spot in the Western Conference. The Blues (36-25-6) have 78 points this season. They are third in the Central Division, but are just three points up on the Dallas Stars who are holding on to number one spot in the wild card race. Since the turn of 2019, St. Louis has gone 21-7-2 to work themselves back into playoff position. As Sharks fans know, if things start clicking at the right time, a team can do damage in the NHL’s second season. St. Louis Blues at San Jose Sharks Across the Bench: St. Louis Game Time Puck Drop: 1:00 PM PT/4:00 PM ET at SAP Center Broadcast: NSCA, NHL, FSMW Stream: NHL.tv Radio: 98.5 KFOX / NHL App / Sharks App Today, the Blues have a tough decision to make: which hot goaltender to go with. Jake Allen shutout the Los Angeles Kings 4-0 on Thursday. While rookie netminder, Jordan Binnington, has worked his way into the Calder conversation with a 16-3-1 record that includes five shutouts, a 1.80 goals against average and a .929 save percentage. Technically, it’s Binnington’s turn to mind the net, but interim Blues’ coach Craig Berube told St. Louis media yesterday that the decision is still up in the air. There’s also some offensive firepower to worry about. Ryan O’Reilly is having a great season for the Blues, with 66 points (26 goals, 40 assists). He’s often flanked by Brayden Schenn and Vladimir Tarasenko on the team’s top line. Schenn just returned from an injury and registered four points (one goal, three assists) in the two games he’s played since coming off the injured reserve (IR) list. Tarasenko leads the team with 28 goals, including 11 on the power play. On the IR for the Blues, veteran David Perron, who is suffering from an upper body injury. Will the injury and flu bug bite the Sharks? Speaking of injuries, will it hurt the Sharks today? Evander Kane has missed three games with an undisclosed injury, there’s no word if he’ll play today. Erik Karlsson has also missed three games because he reaggravated his groin injury during the Feb. 26 game against the Boston Bruins. For Karlsson, looks like he’ll be out for a while. Erik Karlsson guarantees that he'll be healthy in time for #SJSharks playoff run. '100 percent. Should be no issues for (playoffs). It's just whether I can get a few games in before, which would be nice.' read---->https://t.co/3u9feL5eus — Paul Gackle (@GackleReport) March 8, 2019 The flu is also working its way through the Sharks’ lineup. Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns were deemed good to go for Thursday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens, but looked a step slow in the game. They skipped yesterday’s practice, but I would guess that was to make sure they would be good to go today. Once the flu bug hits, it’s tough to keep it away from the locker room. It’s possible one or two other Sharks will catch the bug before it goes away completely. Can the kids continue to make the difference? With the big guys feeling a little under the weather, it’s going to be up to the younger players to keep up the pace. The brilliance of this season’s Sharks is the ability to be an offensive threat no matter what line is on the ice. Against a team like the Blues, that depth is going to be necessary. Joonas Donskoi (three assists in the last two games), Melker Karlsson (a pair of goals in last two games), Kevin Labanc (five assists in five games), Timo Meier (one goal in each of his last three games) and Marcus Sorensen (four goals and an assist in last three games) will all need to keep up the scoring. And while he’s not technically a “kid,” I’d love to see Gustav Nyquist continue to integrate himself into the Sharks’ system and get a few points today.