Sillinger's hat trick puts Blues back in series

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Blues kept their cool and finally got to Evgeni Nabokov, working their way back into their first-round playoff series.

Late-season pickup Mike Sillinger scored his first career playoff hat trick and Dallas Drake scored on a deflection and added an assist in a 4-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Monday night.

The Sharks lead the series 2-1, heading into Game 4 tonight in St. Louis.

Sillinger, acquired March 4 from the Coyotes and playing for his 10th NHL team to tie an NHL record, seemed to be a low-key pickup at the time. But he provided an immediate boost for a team that qualified for the playoffs on the 81st game, getting four goals and five assists in 16 games.

Nabokov set a franchise record with nine regular-season shutouts and nearly had two in the first two games of the series, stopping 52 of 53 shots in 1-0 and 3-1 victories. His dominant run ended in the second period when Dallas Drake blocked a shot from the point by Tom Preissing just as Sillinger's penalty for elbowing was expiring.

Drake deflected the puck to a streaking Sillinger, who outraced Preissing to the net and beat Nabokov with a shot between the pads to give the Blues their first lead in the series.

Drake made it 2-0 at 17:24 when he deflected an innocent-looking wrist shot from the point by Eric Weinrich past Nabokov. Jonathan Cheechoo scored his first career playoff goal for the Sharks early in the third to slice the gap to one, reawakening the Blues.

A little over two minutes later, at 7:51 of the third, Sillinger again broke loose off a backhand feed from Keith Tkachuk to make it 3-1. Then he wrapped it up with an unassisted empty-net goal, scoring from deep in the Blues' zone, with 46.9 seconds to go.

The Blues' defense, anchored by goalie Chris Osgood, did the rest. Osgood was pulled early in the third period of Game 2, ostensibly to shake up the team, but also had appeared to have injured his right knee earlier in that game.

He showed no signs of a physical problem in Game 3, making 17 saves and benefiting from a defense that allowed few rebounds.

Notes: Sillinger and J.J. Daigneault are the only players to play for 10 teams. Daigneault also had a stint with the Blues. ... The Blues' pre-game video, featuring Roy Schneider shooting the shark in the movie "Jaws," drew a huge cheer. ... Blues forward Ryan Johnson was injured when he was sent flying by an Alexander Korolyuk check midway through the first period and did not return. ... Marleau was held to two shots after his Game 2 hat trick. ... The Sharks had won four in a row overall against the Blues.