The Sharks look to take a commanding 3-1 series lead in the Western Conference Final when they play Game 4 against the Blues on Friday in St. Louis.
San Jose regained the series lead with a 5-4 overtime win in Game 3. The victory, however, was Meier in controversy as Timo Meier’s hand-pass led to Erik Karlsson scoring the game-winning goal.
Lost in the controversy is the fact St. Louis led 4-3 after two periods and failed to put the Sharks away. The Blues couldn’t solve Martin Jones in the third, Alex Pietrangelo had a few late icing infractions and the defense allowed the tying goal with only 61 seconds remaining in regulation.
St. Louis will have to even the series without defenseman Vince Dunn, who is listed as day-to-day after he was hit in the face by a shot from San Jose’s Brenden Dillon in Game 3 and didn’t return. The 32-year-old Carl Gunnarsson will replace Dunn in St. Louis’ lineup.
A victory for the Sharks would mark their first back-to-back playoff wins since they won three straight against the Golden Knights in the first round.
Friday’s schedule
Game 4: Sharks at Blues, 7 p.m. (NBCSN), SJ 2-1