ST. LOUIS _ Nothing the Blues could have done Thursday night would ease the pain of how last season ended, but for a team that has more pressing issues _ namely, the present _ this win felt awfully nice.
The most recent time the Blues and Sharks met at Scottrade Center, it was Game 5 of the Western Conference final, and with the series even at 2-2, the Sharks won that game 6-3 and took control of the series, closing it out in Game 6.
The Blues came back from what has become a familiar scenario, giving up the first goal, and beat the Sharks 3-2 on Thursday night at Scottrade Center to take a 1-0 lead in the season series, which is nowhere near as significant as a 3-2 lead would have been last season.
But the Blues, who have no choice but to be concerned about righting their inconsistent 2016-17 season, have now won two in a row since being fed their lunch by Columbus on Saturday in an 8-4 loss. Home has been good for the Blues. The win improved their record to 7-1-2 at home, compared to 2-5-1 on the road.
The Blues got two goals from Jaden Schwartz, who has five goals in six games, and got the game-winner from David Perron on a power play, which has scored six in 10 chances in the past thee games.
The Blues were without forward Alexander Steen, who was shaken up in the Buffalo game on Tuesday, but did have Vladimir Tarasenko, whose status had also been in doubt for the game.
Jake Allen stopped 29 of 31 shots to pick up the win.
San Jose scored 6:16 into the game after Robby Fabbri turned the puck over in the Sharks end. San Jose countered with a three-on-two and Logan Couture, the third man on the attack, shot between Allen's legs for the goal.
It's the seventh time in the past nine games the Blues have given up the first goal, but for the third straight time, the Blues evened the game up before the period was over. A hard forecheck by Dmitrij Jaskin enabled Alex Pietrangelo to win a battle for the puck along the boards with San Jose's Kevin Labanc. Pietrangelo got the puck to Schwatz in the slot and he fired it past Martin Jones.
The Blues went ahead 2-1 with 11:15 to go in the second. After a long possession in the Sharks' end by the Blues fourth line, Schwartz got his second goal of the night, putting in a wrist shot with Kyle Brodziak and Ryan Reaves looming in the crease. The lead lasted 19 seconds before Labanc scored from in the slot.
The rest of the period was nothing if not eventful. The Blues had a three-on-one that ended with Kevin Shattenkirk missing badly. Jay Bouwmeester took a hooking penalty, and before it was done, Brodziak had taken a high-sticking penalty. San Jose had a two-man advantage for 24 seconds, but couldn't score, with Allen making a pad save as that penalty ended. The Blues followed by killing off the rest of the penalty, which was even when San Jose's Mikkel Boedker was called for interference, a call the Sharks strongly disagreed with.
After some four-on-four time that included Bouwmeester putting a shot off the post, the Blues scored on the ensuing power play, with Paul Stastny threading a cross-ice pass to Perron, who controlled the puck and then fired a wrist shot to make it 3-2 with 4:04 to go. The goal snapped San Jose's streak of killing penalties at 26, spanning 11 games, and after the goal, the Sharks again expressed their displeasure with referee Dan O'Rourke.
The Sharks were unhappy again when Marc-Edouard Vlasic was called for holding Perron as time ran out in the second, giving the Blues a power play to start the third. The Sharks killed that penalty and each team killed another in the period.
Brodziak was sent off for delay of game with 55.2 seconds left, giving the Sharks a two-man advantage with Smith already on the bench, and in a frantic final minute, which included two chances by Patrick Marleau in the crease in the final 30 seconds, the Blues held on.
