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ST LOUIS BLUES 4 SAN JOSE SHARKS 2- (Series tied 1-1)
The Sharks let a spectacular night from Logan Couture go to waste as they dropped Game 2 to the St Louis Blues 4-2. The Blues got things going early with a goal from who else but Jaden Schwartz:
Jaden Schwartz a maintenant neuf buts depuis le début des séries!
— LNH (@LNH_FR) May 14, 2019
Voici ce qui se produit quand on lui laisse du temps et de l'espace dans l'enclave #stlblues #SJSharks #CoupeStanley #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/zf6VaXCILc
So, maybe the Sharks ought to (and bear in mind that I’m just spitballin’ here), not give Schwartz that much time and space in the slot? Just a thought. They’d end the period with a 1-0 lead, and then Vince Dunn would make it 2-0 early in the middle frame:
Vince Dunn
— NHL Brasil (@NHLBrasil) May 14, 2019
pic.twitter.com/kyhoCm9AiN
And with that 2 goal lead it really looked like the Blues had things in control. No one told Logan Couture that, and he answered back with this short-handed beauty:
Logan Couture does it all himself for the shorthanded goal! #SJSharks | #STLvsSJS | #StanleyCup| #HockeyTwitter @FrankDangelo23 pic.twitter.com/qESMbi6v3F
— NextSportStar.com (@NextSportStar) May 14, 2019
And he wasn’t done there, as he strikes again just after the Sharks finish killing off the penalty:
13 goals in 16 games this spring. 29 playoff goals in his last 56 playoff games. @Logancouture. 2 goals in 1:56 pic.twitter.com/PWN5oMO7IG
— Bucci Mane (@Buccigross) May 14, 2019
Forget Tuukka Rask, this guy is your Conn Smythe favorite in my opinion. Just a ridiculous pace, and he could conceivably break the record for most goals in a playoff year if they make the finals. So they’re all knotted up and feeling good. They have the momentum and the Blues have to be second-guessing themselves. So why on earth do you let a guy like Robert Bortuzzo score a goal like this?
#stlblues Robert Bortuzzo 1st career #StanleyCup Playoff goal, a Game Winner ties the Western Conference Final at 1-1
— Bruce Bolton (@BruceDBolton) May 14, 2019
When a best-of-seven Conference Finals/Semifinals is tied 1-1, the winner of Game 3 owns an all-time series record of 54-17 (76.1%)pic.twitter.com/J1lTepGBbJ
The Blues would put it out of reach in the 3rd with this nice one from Oskar Sundqvist:
Oskar Sundqvist Backhands Alex Steen’s No-Look Pass Past Martin Jones#NHLPlayoffs #stlblues #sanjosesharks pic.twitter.com/LlYI7ixyOl
— HockeyTroll.ca (@Hockeytroll_ca) May 14, 2019
Holy smokes that pass from Alexander Steen was absolutely sick! Game 3 goes tomorrow in St Louis.
TEAM CANADA (2-0-0-1) 6 TEAM SLOVAKIA (1-0-0-2) 5
Mark Stone celebrated his 27th birthday in style, scoring the game winner with one second left on the clock to give Canada a 6-5 win over the host Slovakian team. Canada battled back from a two goal deficit twice in the game.
The Slovaks got the crowd on their feet in the first on this goal from Mates Sukel:
opens up the scoring, as Matus Sukel is able to poke the puck in after a scramble around Matt Murray's crease.#IIHFWorlds pic.twitter.com/ut1SE8lebz
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) May 13, 2019
Former Kitchener Rangers F Adam Liska then made it 2-0 just over a minute later and it looked like Alain Vigneault’s team was in for a long night:
Just 1:04 later, former @OHLRangers forward Adam Liska taps in a rebound after an incredible save by Matt Murray.
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) May 13, 2019
2-0 | #IIHFWorlds pic.twitter.com/Djqi4FShHE
Coming off a 5 point performance against Great Britain on Sunday Anthony Mantha kept his terrific run going with the first goal of the night for Canada:
Anthony Mantha 2-1 reducering för Kanada mot Slovakien. #IIHFWorlds #LGRW pic.twitter.com/vcWnKki6nA
— Anton Johansson (@antonj85) May 13, 2019
He then sets up Shea Theodore who gets one by Slovakian goalie Patrik Rybar to tie it 2-2 after one period:
SCORES!
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) May 13, 2019
Shea Theodore (@GoldenKnights) finds the equalizer on the power play after taking a backhand pass from Anthony Mantha (@DetroitRedWings)!
2-2 | #IIHFWorlds pic.twitter.com/9RGb7hlfJY
In the 2nd things continued to be a little crazy, and Ladislav Nagy gave the Slovaks the lead again:
39-year-old Ladislav Nagy (@ManitobaMoose) gets credit for Slovakia's 3rd goal, as the shot appears to deflect off @HC_Men's Troy Stecher and in.
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) May 13, 2019
3-2 | #IIHFWorlds pic.twitter.com/D9mNCR7AcC
Bad bounce for Troy from Richmond there, but he’ll make amends later in the game. Liska would strike again and restore the 2 goal Slovakian lead, and it was starting to look like maybe they made a mistake starting Matt Murray after Carter Hart had the shutout in the previous game:
Adam Liska notches his 2nd of the game for Slovakia, jamming home a rebound.
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) May 13, 2019
4-2 | #IIHFWorlds pic.twitter.com/I6kX3asNPq
It didn’t take Canada long to respond, though. Thomas Chabot would set up Jonathan Marchessault on the power play to make it 4-3:
SCORES!
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) May 13, 2019
The red-hot Canadian powerplay strikes again, as Jonathan Marchessault (@GoldenKnights) walks in and rips one five-hole.
4-3 | #IIHFWorlds pic.twitter.com/wlYekVxJfX
And a minute and a half later it’s the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Anthony Cirelli from Sam Reinhart and Theodore and the game is tied 4-4:
SCORES!
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) May 13, 2019
The red-hot Canadian powerplay strikes again, as Jonathan Marchessault (@GoldenKnights) walks in and rips one five-hole.
4-3 | #IIHFWorlds pic.twitter.com/wlYekVxJfX
The Slovaks responded when Montreal’s Tomas Tatar scored, but the goal was challenged by the Canadian bench for goaltender interference and this one, while it took a while for them to decide, was pretty clearly not a legal goal:
Tomas Tatar (@CanadiensMTL) appeared to put up 5-4, but after a lengthy review, the goal was taken away because of goaltender interference.
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) May 13, 2019
4-4 | #IIHFWorlds pic.twitter.com/cngpkV4WXv
That set the stage for our boy Troy, as he gives Canada it’s first lead of the day:
SCORES!
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) May 13, 2019
Troy Stecher (@Canucks) throws it on net and gets rewarded, as @HC_Men grabs their first lead of the game!
5-4 | #IIHFWorlds pic.twitter.com/DrTlIl2k74
That would be the end of Rybar’s night, as Slovakian coach Craig Ramsay would pull him in favour of Marek Ciliak. On to the 3rd, and the Slovaks would tie it up as Martin Marincen sets up Sukel for his 2nd of the game:
The barn burner continues between & , as Matus Sukel ties it 5-5!#IIHFWorlds pic.twitter.com/OGEHk5Y9EJ
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) May 13, 2019
Mantha took a slashing penalty with about 6 minutes to go, and it looked like Slovakia was going to get the chance to retake the lead but Martin and the Canadian PK came through bigtime. And just as it looked like this one would head to overtime, Erik Cernak was called for tripping with just 1:14 remaining and the lethal Canadian PP went to work.
SCORES!
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) May 13, 2019
The birthday boy Mark Stone (@GoldenKnights) scores with TWO seconds remaining to give @HC_Men a 6-5 lead and seal the victory!#IIHFWorlds pic.twitter.com/77ZMx0xJHl
Needless to say, the crowd wasn’t happy about how it all played out, and littered the ice with coins and trash, also throwing stuff at the Canadian bench. They also booed the Canadian anthem. The Canadians lost Brandon Montour to an undisclosed injury, and with one open roster spot and two days off, they could call someone over to fill the hole on the back end before the game against Team France on Thursday. After that they face Germany on Saturday, Denmark Monday and the much-anticipated showdown with Quinn Hughes and Team USA a week from today to wrap up the round robin portion of the tournament.