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PLAYOFF SERIES: Western Conference quarterfinals; Sharks lead 1-0.
St. Louis may be trailing in its playoff series with the San Jose Sharks, but if the rest of the series is played like it was in Game 1, the Blues feel like they have a chance for an upset.

The second-seeded Sharks look to take a 2-0 series lead over the seventh-seeded Blues when the teams meet at HP Pavilion.

The Sharks are facing the Blues in the first round for the third time in five seasons, and the rivalry is made particularly intense by the teams' contrasting styles. San Jose plays a speed-based, disciplined game, while St. Louis largely relies on its physical defense.

The teams played the defensive style the Blues prefer in Game 1 on Thursday, but the Sharks were able to come away with a win when Niko Dimitrakos scored 9:16 into overtime to give San Jose a 1-0 victory.


Evgeni Nabokov stopped 26 shots to earn the second postseason shutout of his career, playing flawlessly behind the Sharks' sturdy defense. He won a duel with Chris Osgood, a former Stanley Cup winner who stopped the Sharks' first 28 shots.

``Both teams were coming pretty hard,'' Nabokov said. ``They were shooting from everywhere. We were shooting from everywhere. It was really intense.''

``Both teams battled pretty hard,'' Osgood said. ``It just came down to a broken play, and the guy made a nice play.''

Dimitrakos ended the scoreless game with an opportunity granted by the Blues, who hesitated to play a puck in their own zone after Vincent Damphousse made a hand pass.

Dimitrakos made a fake that froze the defense and drew Osgood slightly out of position, followed by a tough shot over Osgood's shoulder to end his first playoff game.

``I couldn't have dreamed this up any better,'' said Dimitrakos, who scored nine goals in the regular season. ``This is definitely the biggest thing I've ever done in hockey. To score a goal in overtime is something that I dreamed about, playing on the street.''

The Blues have had trouble on the offensive end all season, having scored just 191 goals -- the fewest among playoff teams. But Keith Tkachuk said if they play another strong defensive game on Saturday, they just may be able to go back to St. Louis with the series tied.

``You definitely want the first game, and we had our chances,'' Tkachuk said. ``We couldn't find that second or third effort to put it in. That was the difference. These are the games we want to play: good technical, defensive hockey.''

San Jose upset top-seeded St. Louis in 2000, but the Blues beat the Sharks one year later.

The series moves to St. Louis for Games 3 and 4 on Monday and Tuesday.

HOW THEY GOT HERE: Blues - 91 points; 7th seed. Sharks - 104 points; 2nd seed.

PLAYOFF TEAM LEADERS: Blues - Doug Weight, 4 PIM. Sharks - Dimitrakos, 1 goal and 4 PIM; Damphousse and Scott Hannan, 1 assist; Dimitrakos, Damphousse and Hannan, 1 point.

PLAYOFF SPECIAL TEAMS: Blues - Power play: 0.0 percent (0 for 5). Penalty killing: 100 percent (4 for 4). Sharks - Power play: 0.0 percent (0 for 4). Penalty killing: 100 percent (5 for 5).

GOALTENDERS: Blues - Osgood (0-1, 0.87 GAA); Reinhard Divis (no appearances). Sharks - Nabokov (1-0, 1 SO, 0.00); Vesa Toskala (no appearances).

REGULAR SEASON SERIES: 2-2. San Jose outscored St. Louis 4-1 en route to winning the last two games of the series. Marco Sturm had three goals in the four games for the Sharks, while Chris Pronger had a goal and two assists for the Blues.

St. Louis needs to find a way to score in this series. Last I saw San Jose was winning 2-0 in the 3rd period after shutting out the Blues 1-0 in Game 1.

San Jose 3, St. Louis 1

By GREG BEACHAM, AP Sports Writer
April 10, 2004

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- Patrick Marleau's slump is history, and the San Jose Sharks are halfway to the second round of the playoffs.

Marleau scored three goals and Evgeni Nabokov made 25 saves, leading the Sharks to a 3-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues in Game 2 of their first-round series Saturday.

Though Nabokov was nearly impeccable again, San Jose took a 2-0 lead in the series thanks to a career-defining performance by Marleau, the All-Star who scored just one goal in the final 17 games of the regular season.

The Sharks' 24-year-old captain has been inconsistent throughout his career, but his maturity is growing along with his abilities. Marleau scored in each period of a penalty-filled game, leading San Jose to an easy win over the hotheaded Blues, who gave San Jose 10 power plays in the first two periods.

After getting two power-play goals, Marleau sneaked behind the St. Louis defense early in the third for a short-handed goal on a pass from Vincent Damphousse, who had two assists. The sellout crowd threw hundreds of hats onto the ice.

Nabokov was on the verge of his second straight shutout until he allowed a terrible short-handed goal to Doug Weight with 2:09 to play, ending a streak of 127 scoreless minutes.

No matter: San Jose will head to St. Louis for Game 3 on Monday with confidence and a two-game cushion. Game 4 of the best-of-seven series is Tuesday.

The second-seeded Sharks, who set a franchise record with 104 points while winning the Pacific Division, have a 2-0 lead in a playoff series for the second time in their 13-year history. In 1995, they went two games ahead of the Calgary Flames before holding on for a seven-game, first-round victory.

While the Sharks thrived with discipline and speed, the Blues and goalie Chris Osgood came unraveled.

St. Louis was called for 11 minor penalties in the first two periods. Some were questionable, others were glaringly obvious -- and all were inexcusable for a seventh-seeded team already trailing in the series after San Jose's 1-0 overtime victory in the opener.

Nabokov wasn't tested nearly as much as in Game 1, when he made 26 saves. The Blues never found their rhythm in the rematch, and Nabokov stopped Dallas Drake on a first-period breakaway that was the Blues' best scoring chance until Weight's goal.

After matching nearly every save by Nabokov in Game 1, something just wasn't right for Osgood, who appeared to twist his knee earlier in the game. He failed to make easy saves, gave up long rebounds and tripped behind the net twice -- and after Marleau's third goal, he was replaced by Reinhard Divis.

The Blues lost their cool after a few early calls against them. Chris Pronger spent eight of the game's first 14 minutes in the penalty box for a variety of infractions, and Marleau finally scored on the Sharks' fifth power play.

The Blues unraveled again in the second period after Marleau's second goal. After Kyle McLaren flattened Petr Cajanek with a legal check, Keith Tkachuk got a slashing penalty while trying to goad McLaren into a fight.

With 3:39 left in the third, Mike Sillinger went after Scott Hannan, punching the defenseman with a gloved hand. Pronger got two more minorpenalties in the resulting scrum, exiting the ice to deafening jeers.

Notes

The Sharks played without third-leading scorer Alyn McCauley, who hurt his shoulder in Game 1. Scott Mellanby, an 18-year veteran, returned to the Blues' lineup after missing the opener with an undisclosed injury. ... The Blues didn't like any of the first-period calls against them. After Marleau scored following a roughing penalty against Sillinger, Dallas Drake tapped his stick on the ice and pointed at referee Stephen Walkom, shouting, ``That one'sfor you!''