Sharks vs. Blues: Keys to Victory for Both Teams in NHL Playoff Series

The San Jose Sharks and St. Louis Blues are in a position to play inspired and entertaining hockey as both teams reach the Western Conference Final.

While both have a long way to go if either one is going to lift the Stanley Cup in June, the Sharks and Blues have already overcome past reputations as playoff underachievers by winning the first two rounds of their respective series.

That label had dogged both teams for years. The Blues had lost three straight first-round series going into this playoff year, while the Sharks were coming off two consecutive painful playoff defeats to the Los Angeles Kings (2013 and 2014), and didn't even make the postseason last year.

The Blue have registered a pair of Game 7 victories over the Chicago Blackhawks and Dallas Stars, while the Sharks vanquished the Kings in five games before getting the best of the Nashville Predators in Game 7.

Both teams come into the series after notable postseason success instead of playoff disappointment. With the burden of playoff failure lifted, the result should be exciting and memorable.

Brent Burns cuts quite a figure on the ice for the San Jose Sharks.

We're not talking about his legendary beard, rivaled only by teammate Joe Thornton's facial forest. It's Burns' ability to control the puck in the defensive end, carry it up ice and then create scoring opportunities for himself and his teammates.

Burns is the leading scorer among defensemen in the playoffs. He has scored four goals and 11 assists, and that includes two goals and five assists when the Sharks have the man advantage. Burns is especially effective at getting the puck through a maze of legs and bodies when he fires his shot from the point.

Burns does not appear to be the most graceful player at 6'5" and 230 pounds, but those looks can be deceiving. He has powerful skating strides and is able to find open teammates with pinpoint passes. He has a hard shot that he gets away with a quick release.

Burns has taken 43 shots on goal during the playoffs, and his average of 3.58 per game indicates how dependent San Jose is on his ability to impact the offense.

There has been remarkable confidence and consistency every time the San Jose Sharks have been on the power play in the postseason.

Their ability to throw the puck around the offensive zone means they are going to find the open man a bit more easily than nearly every other team in the NHL, and their power play has come through with 13 man-advantage goals in 42 opportunities in the first two rounds of the playoffs.

They have been led by Logan Couture, who is nearly unstoppable on the power play. He has four goals and four assists in man-advantage situations and he excels at receiving difficult passes, controlling them and getting rid of the shot quickly. 

Couture endured a difficult season with two major injuries this year, including a broken ankle and an arterial bleed, which was first described as a lower-body injury.

Head coach Peter DeBoer has been impressed by his team's man-advantage achievements. “It's a game-changing weapon where they're at right now,” DeBoer told Kevin Kurz of CSNBayArea.com.

If the power play continues to produce, the Sharks should be able to have another strong playoff series.

Joe Thornton has worn the goat's horns throughout his career when it comes to playoff underachievement. During his early years after the Boston Bruins made him the No. 1 choice in the 1997 draft, his inability to produce enough in the postseason was a big problem and led to his trade to the Sharks.

He has regularly been disappointing in the playoffs for "Team Teal" since being traded to San Jose in 2005-06, and as the years have gone by, the leadership role on the team has shifted to Couture, Burns and Joe Pavelski.

Thornton and running mate Patrick Marleau are still very important players to the Sharks but they are no longer the team's primary offensive threats.

The shifting of responsibilities has suited both players. Thornton has scored 13 points in 12 playoff games this year, while Marleau has contributed 11 points.

If both players continue at their current rates in a secondary role, the Sharks will have an excellent chance to get to the Stanley Cup Final.

Rookie Robby Fabbri has been a key contributor to the St. Louis Blues since the start of the season. He scored a respectable 18 goals with 19 assists during the regular season and flashed his speed and quick release enough to win head coach Ken Hitchcock's confidence as he averaged more than 13 minutes of ice time per night.

Fabbri has stepped up his production level in the playoffs. He has scored three goals and 10 assists in the playoffs, and his 13 points are tied with sharpshooter Vladimir Tarasenko for the most points on the Blues in the playoffs.

Fabbri was at his best in the Blues' Game 7 road victory over the Dallas Stars in which he scored three points. That made him the youngest player in league history to total three points in a seventh game, according to Elias Sports (h/t NHL public relations).

Fabbri has eye-catching acceleration with his first two strides, and that enables him to get open and either take the shot or make a sharp pass to his teammates.

Brian Elliott has raised his profile dramatically for the Blues in the postseason.

Perhaps Hitchcock was testing his players in the aftermath of the Blues' Game 6 home loss to the Dallas Stars.

After that game, in which the Stars scored three first-period goals that led to Hitchcock pulling Elliott and replacing him with Jake Allen, the coach said he wasn't sure which goalie would start Game 7 in Dallas.

Elliott's teammates came rushing to his defense and threw their collective support behind Elliott because he had been so effective throughout the postseason. Elliott ultimately got the start in the seventh game and the Blues ran away to a decisive 6-1 victory.

Troy Brouwer summed up the support Elliott had from his teammates. "It would have been a crime if we hadn't turned to him tonight," Brouwer told NHL.com correspondent Lou Korac.

Elliott has an 8-6 postseason record along with a 2.29 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage.

The Blues have a true sniper in Tarasenko, who has one of the most vicious wrist shots in the league and has scored seven goals and six assists in the postseason.

He is joined by Fabbri (13 points), Jaden Schwartz (11 points) and Kevin Shattenkirk (10 points) as big-time scorers during the current playoff year.

St. Louis has also received tremendous clutch scoring from captain David Backes and Troy Brouwer. Backes has scored six goals and six assists, and three of his goals have been game-winners. Brouwer, who came to the Blues in an offseason trade from the Washington Capitals for T.J. Oshie, has five goals and five assists and he scored the Game 7-winner in the first-round series against Chicago.

Brouwer has played in eight straight seventh games and he credits that experience to making him a dependable playoff performer.

"It's kind of cliche, but I'd like to say experience and for the fact I've been in so may Game 7s and I've been in so many different situations," Brouwer told Korac. "I think in my playoff career, I've been in every situation as far as games, winning games, lost games, down three games, up three games, I've been in every situation just to provide a little insight as much as I can."

Backes and Brouwer have proven to be excellent clutch players, and the Sharks may have a hard time limiting either of them.