
ST. LOUIS – Blues coach Ken Hitchcock is a Civil War buff. The 64-year-old has even taken part in reenactments in the summer time.
He may have to channel his inner Stonewall Jackson to stop the Sharks’ power play attack.
San Jose enters Game 1 of the Western Conference Final with a power play that’s humming along at 31.0 percent. It’s come through in key moments, too, getting a pair of goals in a Game 7 blowout win of the Predators on Thursday including Joe Pavelski’s first period score that set an early tone.
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“You just can’t give them extended zone time. It’s in the extended zone time that they make you panic,” Hitchcock said. “They force you into mistakes [and] tired errors. We've got to make sure that when it's an opportunity to clear it off a faceoff or after a shot on goal, we have to get numbers over there and get the puck cleared. … If you don’t do that, when you’re standing on the bench you can literally feel the goal coming."
Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk said: "They’ve been playing together for so long that they make little plays that most power plays don’t make because they just know where everyone is going to be. That’s the beast. That’s why they are so successful and it's something that we’re going to have to figure out.”
In his first year as the Sharks’ head coach, Pete DeBoer hasn’t had to tinker much with the power play, especially the top unit that Shattenkirk is referring to that’s been together for several seasons. Still, it’s gone up another level from the regular season after finishing third in the league at 22.6 percent.
DeBoer expects to have opportunities there, pointing out that the Blues were on the PK for more than 469 minutes in the regular season, the third-highest total in the league.
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“From our power play perspective, we know it’s been [consistently] good all year,” DeBoer said. “It’s been good through the playoffs. We know we’re going to get chances on the power play on this team, one of the most penalized teams during the regular season and in the playoffs. We know we’re going to get looks, and we’ve got to cash in.”
Pavelski said: “When we’ve needed a goal, we’ve gotten it. Game 7 the other night was one of those situations … it came through again in that moment.”
St. Louis has been shorthanded 39 times through 14 playoff games, surrendering eight power play goals.
Conversely, the Blues’ power play is a principal reason it advanced past Chicago and Dallas. St. Louis enters at 27.5 percent in the playoffs (11-for-40), after finishing sixth in the NHL in the regular season (21.5 percent).
“It’s dangerous,” DeBoer said. “I think our discipline is critical. We’ve been one of the least penalized teams through the season and in the playoffs. I think that’s going to play into it, too.”
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Due to a quirk in the schedule, all three of the Sharks-Blues meetings in the regular season came after the All-Star break. San Jose won games at Scottrade Center on Feb. 4 and Feb. 22, while the Blues beat the Sharks at SAP Center on March 22.
“We feel like we know them, they know us, because we played each other all late games,” Hitchcock said.
Pavelski wasn’t sold on that theory, but pointed out that in a playoff series, it’s the mid-series adjustments that could determine the outcome.
“Regular season to where both teams are now, a lot of stuff changes,” said the Sharks’ captain. “Playing a team repetitively, that will change a little bit with adjustments here and there. We’re familiar with them. We’ve watched their game before.
“At the end of the day, it’s more about this team. When we played our game against Nashville, it was about us. When we got away from it, you let the other team in there.”
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Matt Nieto remains out for Game 1, but on Saturday morning he put on his pads and skates for the first time since getting hurt in Game 6 of the Nashville series. DeBoer was optimistic that Nieto will be an option at some point.
“Getting better,” DeBoer said. “I’m confident he’ll be available at some point in this series.”
Nieto has three points (1g, 2a) in 11 playoff games.