Western Conference Finals: Blues at Sharks Game 1 Preview

Sometimes in the postseason, you worry about having home ice advantage. Sometimes, you have a team like the Blues. Against Winnipeg, they jumped out to a quick two games to none advantage after winning their first two games on the road. Against Dallas, the Blues lost just one road game. Overall, they’re 5-1 on the road this post-season.

The San Jose Sharks have had a multitude of good breaks go their way, but that doesn’t discount the fact that they came back from a 3-1 series hole against the Vegas Golden Knights, or that they’re 6-2 at home. It’s easy for a fan of either team to say “oh, thank goodness, we have ________ ice.”

It’s also easy for a fan of either team to be unable to predict this series, or how long it’ll last. The Blues were 1-1-1 against the Sharks this season, with San Jose winning both games at home. The Blues’ 3-2 OTL on March 9th had Jake Allen in net, their 4-0 loss on November 17th had Chad Johnson in net (as did the Blues 4-0 victory on November 9th). You could argue that this is a completely different team than the one that the Sharks faced during the regular season, and you wouldn’t be wrong.

This is another unpredictable series in a post-season full of unpredictability. If the Blues can get Sharks goaltender Martin Jones rattled back into his first round form, that could be all she wrote for San Jose.