Blues 1, Sharks 0
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Robby Fabbri spoiled the San Jose Sharks' clinching party Tuesday night.
The Blues rookie scored his 17th goal of the season midway through the third period to break a scoreless tie and send the St. Louis Blues past San Jose 1-0 at SAP Center.
San Jose's second loss in six games meant the Sharks will have to wait at least another night to cinch an 11th Stanley Cup playoff spot in 12 years. The third-place Sharks (41-26-6) also squandered a chance to pass Anaheim and pull within three of Pacific Division-leading Los Angeles on a night when both the Ducks and Kings lost.
The Blues (43-22-9) remain two points behind the first-place Dallas Stars in the Central Division after winning for the eighth time in 10 games. They recorded their first win over San Jose in three regular-season meetings.
On the game-deciding goal, Fabbri outraced Sharks captain Joe Pavelski for a loose puck chipped out of the zone by St. Louis forward Troy Brouwer. Leading a two-on-one advantage against San Jose defenseman Justin Braun, Fabbri stopped, deked as if he might pass to Paul Stastny and instead wristed a shot past Sharks goalie Martin Jones at 9:55.
Fabbri's shot might have had some assistance, as late-arriving Sharks defenseman Dylan DeMelo appeared to get his stick on the puck, changing the direction of the shot to the inside post against Jones.
The Blues had to survive a pair of late minor penalties that enabled the Sharks to skate six-on-three for 38 seconds with Jones pulled.
St. Louis goalie Brian Elliott collected his third shutout of the season and the 33rd of his career with 37 saves.
Jones stopped 23 of the 24 shots he faced.
The game remained scoreless through 40 minutes as San Jose held a 22-15 edge in shots through two periods.
The Blues, who pressured early, suffered through a 9:25 drought in the middle period without a shot.
San Jose failed to convert either of two minors by St. Louis defenseman Joel Edmondson -- one in each period -- while mustering a combined three shots on goal between the two advantages.
The Blues had one power play late in the second when San Jose's Dainius Zubrus high-sticked Blues forward Dmitrij Jaskin at 15:35. But St. Louis couldn't solve Jones with any of its three shots on goal.
The Sharks escaped a scoreless first period with a 10-6 edge in shots, mainly on the strength of a carryover power play to the second period in which San Jose's second power-play unit managed three shots on goal during the first minute of Edmundson's slash of Joe Thornton.
The Blues had the better of chances at even strength, but were turned away at every opportunity by Jones. The netminder denied Vladimir Tarasenko on an early-period breakaway in addition to stopping Jori Lehtera in close on a rebound follow shot.
NOTES: San Jose D Marc-Edouard Vlasic may miss another week to 10 days, if not longer, according to coach Peter DeBoer. Vlasic, who is nursing a lower-body injury sustained March 17, has missed two games and has yet to return even for practice. "The key for him is that he's healthy come playoff time, but he'll be back before that," DeBoer said. ... The Blues, who capped a five-game road trip on Tuesday, play host to the Vancouver Canucks on Friday before facing the Capitals in Washington on Saturday. ... San Jose continues a season-high, six-game homestand by hosting the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday. ... LW Matt Nieto (broken knuckle) and D Matt Tennyson (concussion) remain out for San Jose. St. Louis was missing LW Steve Ott (hamstring) and C Alex Steen (upper body).