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St. Louis Blues Return to Home Ice, Attempt to Take Series Lead Over San Jose Sharks

By Patrick Karraker

May 17, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; San Jose Sharks right wing Joel Ward (42) collides with St. Louis Blues left wing Jaden Schwartz (17) off the face-off during the third period in game two of the Western Conference Final of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoff at Scottrade Center. The Sharks won 4-0. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
May 17, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; San Jose Sharks right wing Joel Ward (42) collides with St. Louis Blues left wing Jaden Schwartz (17) off the face-off during the third period in game two of the Western Conference Final of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoff at Scottrade Center. The Sharks won 4-0. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /
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May 17, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; San Jose Sharks right wing Joel Ward (42) collides with St. Louis Blues left wing Jaden Schwartz (17) off the face-off during the third period in game two of the Western Conference Final of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoff at Scottrade Center. The Sharks won 4-0. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
May 17, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; San Jose Sharks right wing Joel Ward (42) collides with St. Louis Blues left wing Jaden Schwartz (17) off the face-off during the third period in game two of the Western Conference Final of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoff at Scottrade Center. The Sharks won 4-0. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /

The Blues return to Scottrade Center on Monday for Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals and will try to take the lead in a series tied at 2-2.

After a Game 3 performance against the San Jose Sharks that was one of the worst of the 2015-16 postseason for the St. Louis Blues, it looked as if they were on a downward spiral. After making three lineup changes prior to Game 3, coach Ken Hitchcock only added to the chaos by benching goalie Brian Elliott, the hero of the Blues’ postseason efforts to date, for backup Jake Allen in Game 4.

As often seems to be the case, Hitchcock ended up looking like a genius, as the Blues’ offense came back to life in front of Allen and scored six goals, snapping a team streak of two games without getting the puck in the net. Now with the Western Conference Finals tied at 2-2, the Blues return home to Scottrade Center on Monday night with a chance to take a decisive advantage in the series. Especially considering that Blues have home-ice advantage the rest of the way, hosting Games 5 and 7, it’d be especially beneficial for them to win on Monday.

Not that it hasn’t already been done on multiple occasions throughout this postseason–including Saturday night, when fourth-line center Kyle Brodziak came out of nowhere to score two goals and spark the team to victory–but the Blues might need some unlikely contributors to step up on Monday. Forwards David Backes and Robby Fabbri are questionable with injuries suffered in Game 4, and even if they’re on the ice for Game 5, they almost certainly won’t be as active as they’ve been throughout the postseason to date. Recently, Vladimir Tarasenko hasn’t looked the same, either. The 24-year-old forward has had some major puck-handling issues, as he’s been held pointless throughout the series while posting a minus-2 rating.

Game 5 might just be the most important game of the entire series, as it will set the tone for the remaining games and force the losing team to play with their backs against the wall in Game 6.

Check out the next few pages to find out more about the Blues and Sharks’ lineup plans for Game 5:

Next: Blues Lineup

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