Morning Player Notes in the Playoffs (May 2)

Getting the early jump didn't do a great deal for the Stars on Sunday afternoon, as they scored early to take a 1-0 lead, because the Blues scored three straight before the end of the 1st period to chase Kari Lehtonen from the net, as Antti Niemi started the 2nd period.  The goalie change seemed to at least spark the Stars into tightening the game up, as the 2nd period went without a goal and the game was 3-1 going into the 3rd period.

Cue the comeback!  A streaking Mattias Janmark made it 3-2 early in the 3rd period, then with less than three to go, Jamie Benn tied the game in a late scramble and off to overtime we went!

You would think that all this Stars coverage would mean that Dallas took a 2-0 series lead in this one, right?  Wrong!  David Backes saved the day for the St. Louis Blues, scoring a power play goal in overtime to even  up the series, as it heads back to St. Louis this week.  What a game!

Backes finished with 3 points, including the bonus, while Robby Fabbri and Kevin Shattenkirk each had a couple of assists in the win.  On the losing side, Cody Eakin had 3 assists and Jamie Benn finished with a goal and an assist.

This game was a touch better for the hockey pool than the opener, hopefully, they can ramp it up just a little bit more for our purposes.

The San Jose Sharks are now the only team in the second round to hold a 2-0 series advantage, thanks to some late-game heroics from the big guys in San Jose.

Joe Pavelski scored to break a 1-1 tie with less than three minutes to go and then Joe Thornton added an empty-netter with under one minute to go, making it into a 3-1 hockey game.  Ryan Johansen did put one back with four seconds to go, which made Thornton's into the eventual winning goal of the game, but there isn't any bonus point for scoring the heart-breaking goal of the game, which was definitely Pavelski's.

Martin Jones was solid again for the Sharks, as he made 37 saves for the win.  Pavelski still finished with a 3-point night (1 goal, 2 assists), as did Thornton, picking up the bonus point and let's not forget about Logan Couture, who had a goal and an assist as well.

The Sharks are propelling the leading teams that much further ahead in this playoff pool, because they are paying back those teams that picked them up in spades, with all of this scoring.  At least someone is scoring, that's a relief.