Blues shut out Sharks in Game 5, on cusp of Stanley Cup Final

SAN JOSE -- Jaden Schwartz had a hat trick when the St. Louis Blues defeated the San Jose Sharks 5-0 in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final at SAP Center on Sunday.

St. Louis leads the best-of-7 series 3-2 and is one win from advancing to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1970. Game 6 is at St. Louis on Tuesday.
"That's something you don't really think about before the game," Schwartz said of his hat trick. "You just kind of prepare the way you usually do and get focused for the game to help the team. Sometimes you get some bounces your way and you never score a goal by yourself. … We've been a team where our depth has gotten us here and different guys step up every night, and tonight was no different."
WATCH: [Blues vs. Sharks Game 5 highlights | Complete series coverage]
Jordan Binnington made 21 saves for his first Stanley Cup Playoff shutout, and Vladimir Tarasenko had a goal and two assists for the Blues, who are 7-2 on the road and set their single-season record with 11 playoff wins.
"They came out hard early and I think we weathered the storm there," Binnington said. "That was a great team win."

Martin Jones made 35 saves for the Sharks, who lost two straight games for the first time since Games 3 and 4 of the first round against the Vegas Golden Knights.
"I just think we got a bit away from our game," Sharks defenseman Brenden Dillon said. "We were kind of turning some pucks over, and any time you do that this time of year, the other teams usually feed off of that."
Oskar Sundqvist gave the Blues a 1-0 lead at 5:50 of the first period, scoring off a giveaway by Erik Karlsson.

After being outshot 11-4 in the first period, St. Louis outshot San Jose 36-10 in the final two periods.
"We scored one goal in the last two games (2-1 loss in Game 4), that's not going to cut it," Sharks forward Logan Couture said. "We're not doing enough around their net or creating enough opportunities on second chances."
Schwartz made it 2-0 at 3:05 of the second period, and Tarasenko converted a penalty shot at 6:53 to extend the lead to 3-0. It was the first successful penalty shot in Blues playoff history.
"The puck has been finding him in the playoffs," Blues defenseman Joel Edmundson said of Schwartz. "He's been in the right spot at the right time. It's huge that he can bury those. To get three tonight, that's pretty unbelievable. He's a gamer, he always steps up to the plate."

Schwartz scored a 5-on-3 power-play goal 2:19 into the third period to make it 4-0 before completing the hat trick at 16:02 on a one-timer to make it 5-0. He has 12 goals in 18 playoff games after scoring 11 in 69 regular-season games.
"We've seen it before from him," Blues coach Craig Berube said. "He's been a pretty consistent performer over the years. It was an off year for him, obviously, in the regular season, but the guy keeps working hard. Nothing changes with his attitude. He keeps with it and keeps working and it's paying off now. He's been a very good performer for us in the playoffs."
When a conference final/semifinal is tied 2-2, the winner of Game 5 has a series record of 19-8 (70.4%).
"Obviously, it's something that everyone's worked for and dreamed about, so you don't want to look too far ahead," Schwartz said. "We all know how important and how hard that last win is going to be."

They said it

"We've been here before and had to go and win on the road in Vegas in order to get to a Game 7. You're never comfortable when your back is against the wall like that, but we have been here before and found a way. I'm confident we can do that again." -- Sharks coach Peter DeBoer
"It's really exciting. We just have to keep our cool. We've got to play Game 6 just like we did Game 5 and if we do, we'll have a good chance. But we're not getting too high, not getting too low. We've just got to look forward to Game 6." -- Blues defenseman Joel Edmundson

Need to know

It was Schwartz's second hat trick of the playoffs (Game 6 against the Winnipeg Jets in the first round). He is the first player with two hat tricks in the same postseason since Johan Franzen did it with the Detroit Red Wings in 2008. ... Sharks forward Joe Pavelski left the game in the third period with an injury following a hit by Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, and Karlsson and Tomas Hertl each did not take a shift in the third. DeBoer did not provide any updates. ... Jim Roberts was unsuccessful on the only other Blues penalty shot in the playoffs (1968 semifinals against the Minnesota North Stars). ... St. Louis is 8-1 when scoring within the first six minutes of a game in the 2019 playoffs.

What's next

Game 6 of Western Conference Final at Enterprise Center on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVAS)