St. Louis looks for discipline

Blues trail San Jose 2-0, but they play the next two games at home.

By R.B. Fallstrom

The Associated Press

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Blues know they need to show much more discipline to get back into their first-round playoff series against the San Jose Sharks.

St. Louis is the lowest scoring team in the playoffs and plays a physical style aimed at winning close games. The Blues were too physical in Game 2, handing the Sharks 13 power plays in a 3-1 loss that put San Jose ahead 2-0 in the series.

Play shifts to St. Louis for Games 3 and 4 tonight and Tuesday, and the Blues hope to show the home crowd they can be composed.

"We were in the penalty box most of the game, and we can't afford to do that," forward Jamal Mayers said. "We just have to keep our cool and play our game."

That edict starts at the top. The Blues' top defenseman, Chris Pronger, was whistled for six minor penalties in Game 2. Their top scorer, Keith Tkachuk, was called for interference, slashing, goaltender interference and roughing.

"You have to address it, you have to make guys accountable," coach Mike Kitchen said. "Your veteran guys, they realize they made a mistake."

Still, for a team down 2-0, the Blues haven't lost faith. Game 1 was a tossup that San Jose won 1-0 in overtime, and more even-strength hockey could have created a different result in Game 2. Two of Patrick Marleau's three goals came on the power play.

"We completely feel this series is a long way from over," Blues forward Doug Weight said. "We easily could have had Game 1 and we kind of played ourselves out of Game 2."

The Sharks, the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, know they have taken care of their own end. If the Blues hold serve at home, the series is tied.

"I've come back from a 2-0 deficit before, and I've lost in a series where we had a 3-1 lead," forward Vincent Damphousse said. "It's a great effort in two games, but we know the job isn't done yet. And we know playing here is always tough."

The Sharks have taken control of the series with a mixture of speed, leading to spurts of sustained pressure, and stout defense anchored by goalie Evgeni Nabokov. Weight's slap shot from about 6 feet inside the blue line with 3:39 to go averted a second straight shutout for Nabokov.

That also would have been the first time the Blues had been shut out in consecutive playoff games in franchise history.

Coach Ron Wilson believes Nabokov belongs among the upper echelon, although he's not often mentioned as an elite goaltender. Nabokov set a franchise record with nine shutouts in the regular season.

"He played like this most of the year," Wilson said.

Unlike the Blues, the Sharks haven't been hurt with turns in the penalty box. They had the sixth-fewest calls in the NHL in the regular season.

Game 2 was tightly enforced -- too tightly according to the Blues. The seven penalties called on the Sharks were also too many for Wilson, although their special teams continued to shut down St. Louis. The Blues are 0-for-12 on the power play in the series.

"We were one of the least penalized teams in the league and we were very disciplined throughout the season and when we do take penalties our penalty killers have been outstanding, and again in this playoffs it's been great," Damphousse said.