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Series at a glance: St. Louis-San Jose playoff preview

Joe Thornton

San Jose Sharks’ Joe Thornton watches the clock during the final few seconds of Game 2 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs Western Conference finals, Wednesday, May 18, 2011, in Vancouver, British Columbia. Vancouver won 7-3. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jonathan Hayward)

AP

Schedule

All times are Eastern.

* - if necessary

Thursday April 12 in St. Louis @ 7:30 p.m. (CNBC, TSN)
Saturday April 14 in St. Louis @ 7:30 p.m. (CNBC, TSN)
Monday April 16 in San Jose @ 10 p.m. (NBC Sports Network, TSN)
Thursday April 19 in San Jose @ 10:30 p.m. (NBC Sports Network, TSN)
*Saturday April 21 in St. Louis @ 7:30 p.m. (CNBC, TSN)
*Monday April 23 in San Jose @ TBD (TBD)
*Wednesday April 25 in St. Louis @ TBD (TBD)

Three storylines to follow

1. How will the St. Louis Blues handle their goaltending situation? Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott have both been dominant this season and either one might end up being the team’s starter. Do they go with Halak, who has already proven himself in the playoffs, or Elliott, who just set the NHL’s modern-era GAA record? Or, do they try something entirely different and continue to alternate goaltenders in the playoffs?

2. San Jose’s triple threat. Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture, and Patrick Marleau all finished the season with at least 30 goals. Throw in Joe Thornton’s play-making abilities and Martin Havlat, who’s back after missing half the season with a hamstring injury, and the Sharks have two intimidating scoring lines. That being said...

3. Can San Jose overcome their regular-season struggles against St. Louis? The Blues have held the Sharks to just three goals over four games. St. Louis is also the only team that has a perfect 2011-12 record against its first-round opponent.

Records

St. Louis: 49-22-11, 109 points (1st in Central; 2nd in Western Conference) | San Jose: 43-29-10, 96 points (2nd in Pacific; 7th in Western Conference)

Leading scorers

St. Louis: David Backes (24G-30A-54PTS) | San Jose: Joe Thornton (18G-59A-77PTS)

Starting goalies

St. Louis: Jaroslav Halak (26-12-7, 1.97 GAA) | San Jose: Antti Niemi (34-22-9, 2.42 GAA)

Head-to-head

St. Louis won series 4-0
Oct. 15: St. Louis 4, at San Jose 2
Dec. 10: At St. Louis 1, San Jose 0
Feb. 12: At St. Louis 3, San Jose 0
March 3: St. Louis 3, at San Jose 1

Last 10 games

St. Louis: 4-3-3 | San Jose: 7-3-0

Playoff history

San Jose leads 2-1
2000: San Jose 4-3 (Western Conference quarterfinals)
2001: St. Louis 4-2 (Western Conference quarterfinals)
2004: San Jose 4-1 (Western Conference quarterfinals)

Stanley Cups

St. Louis: None | San Jose: None

Injuries

St. Louis: None

San Jose: Torrey Mitchell (upper body)

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