(Sports Network) - The St. Louis Blues will try to pick up the second victory
of their five-game road trip on Saturday afternoon when they visit the San
Jose Sharks.
The Blues lost the first two contests of the swing in Dallas and Los Angeles
before pulling off a 6-3 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Thursday. The
line of Christ Stewart, Patrik Berglund and David Perron combined for nine
points, while rookie Jake Allen made 23 saves.
Berglund scored twice, Stewart had a goal and three assists, while Perron
finished with three helpers for the Blues, who had lost five of seven. Alex
Pietrangelo had a goal and an assist, while Scott Nichol and Vladimir Sobotka
each scored once.
"We were hungry for a win tonight and put in a 60-minute effort," Stewart
said.
With the Blues goaltending duo of Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott struggling,
Allen was recalled from the minors after Tuesday's 6-4 loss to the Kings and
improved to 4-1-0 with a 2.69 goals against average in six games (5 starts)
this season.
Allen won the first three starts of his career prior to a 2-1 loss at home to
the Sharks on Feb. 19. He stopped 23-of-25 shots and was sent back to the
minors with Halak returning from injury.
St. Louis swept its four-game set with San Jose in 2011-12, but Tim Kennedy
and Joe Thornton scored in February's win for the Sharks, while Antti Niemi
made 25 saves.
The Blues has lost seven of eight in San Jose before winning both trips there
last season.
The Sharks will try to avoid a third straight home loss to the Blues and
rebound from Wednesday's 4-1 loss in Calgary. Thornton scored in the loss,
which saw Calgary score three times in the third period. That included the
goal-ahead goal from Blake Comeau 2:57 into the frame.
"I thought the Comeau goal was a bit of a back-breaker," Sharks head coach
Todd McLellan said.
Thomas Greiss gave up three goals on 25 shots in the loss for the Sharks, who
were 3-0-1 in their previous four but now just 4-7-4 in 15 games since opening
the season with seven straight wins.
Winger Martin Havlat, who has three goals and six points this season, missed
his second game in a row on Wednesday with a lower body injury.
The Sports Network