Blues at Sharks
The San Jose Sharks have made themselves comfortable at SAP Center in the playoffs while the St. Louis Blues have proven to be at home on the road in the postseason. That's exactly where both teams find themselves on Saturday as the Sharks host the Blues in Game 1 of their Western Conference final.
"It a cliche, I know, but you play all year, you put that work in during the season in order to have home ice during the playoffs and for these types of situations," San Jose coach Peter DeBoer said. "Obviously every team wants to be playing at home, so we played well at home so far these playoffs and it'll be nice to start at home again." The Sharks have won six of their eight contests at SAP Center in the postseason, including a 3-2 victory on Wednesday in Game 7 of their second-round clash versus Colorado. St. Louis improved to a 5-1 on the road with a 4-1 victory over Dallas in Game 6 of the second-round series on Sunday before posting a 2-1 double-overtime triumph at home two nights later. "It's a grind," Blues coach Craig Berube said. "That's why it's a grind of the Stanley Cup playoffs. It's a lot of work, but it's very rewarding. We're moving on to the third round and we're excited. Guys are ready to roll."
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBC, CBC, Sportsnet, TVAS
ABOUT THE BLUES: St. Louis was singing the blues with a last-place point total in the NHL on Jan. 3 before the teams' fortunes changed due in large part to rookie Jordan Binnington, who posted a 24-5-1 mark with five shutouts and 1.89 goals-against average. The 25-year-old didn't stop there, securing a .922 save percentage in the second-round series versus the Stars. Jaden Schwartz has helped on the offensive side of things, collecting four goals in each round of the playoffs after mustering just 11 goals in 69 games in the regular season.
ABOUT THE SHARKS: Martin Jones' postseason appeared headed in the wrong direction after being pulled twice in the first four games of the first-round series versus Vegas, but he turned it around with a sizzling .928 save percentage of his last 10 contests. Tomas Hertl and Logan Couture share the league lead with nine goals while their 14 points match offensive-minded defenseman Brent Burns and Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen for top honors. Captain Joe Pavelski made a triumphant return from injury with a goal and an assist in Game 7 against Colorado.
OVERTIME
1. St. Louis is just 1-for-20 on the power play in the last six games.
2. The Sharks, who won two of three meetings with the Blues in the regular season, have won three of the five series in the playoffs -- including a six-game victory in the 2016 conference final.
3. St. Louis captain Alex Pietrangelo has recorded at least one point in 13 of his last 16 games.