One year ago the San Jose Sharks made the Western Conference finals as the #2 seed. This year the Sharks are back in the 2-7 draw in the NHL’s playoff bracket, only in the underdog role. Sitting in the two-hole is the St. Louis Blues, off a great regular season and hoping to deliver their city it’s second professional sports championship in a period of eight months later in June. TheSportsNotebook previews the coming San Jose-St. Louis series…
The St. Louis Blues have a shot at the President’s Trophy as we come into the final two games of the NHL regular season, trailing Vancouver and the New York Rangers by just two points. Even if the Blues just catch Vancouver they would be the top seed in the West when the playoffs start on Wednesday. St. Louis effectively pulled away from Detroit in the Central ensuring themselves no worse than the 2-slot in the postseason. But St. Louis is finishing the regular season on a dour note. They’ve lost seven of ten. TheSportsNotebook first examines what made St. Louis successful and then goes on a game-by-game walkthrough of the recent slump to see if it’s just a blip on the radar screen or a sign of a team coming down to earth.