The Sharks, who won Game 1 6-3 on Saturday, won Game 1 in each of the first two rounds on home ice before losing Game 2 in each best-of-7 series.
"We didn't play well," Sharks forward Logan Couture said after practice Sunday. "Both series, we came out, we had a solid first game and then just didn't play well in the second game. I don't know if guys were relaxed or what happened, but we need to play well tomorrow. It's a big game. We want to win in front of our home crowd, we've been very good at home this postseason, and we want to continue that."
The Sharks are 7-2 at home in the playoffs, with each loss coming in Game 2. In the first round, they trailed the Vegas Golden Knights 3-0 in the first period before tying the game and eventually losing 5-3. In the second round, they allowed three straight goals in a 4-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche.
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"I think it was kind of us just letting off the gas a little bit in those Game 2s in the previous series," Sharks defenseman Brenden Dillon said. "I think we've got to make an emphasis of it tomorrow. In the past, teams that go down 0-2, it's a lot tougher than being 1-1, especially going back home, so we want to keep this home-ice advantage as best we can, and it starts tomorrow."
The Blues, who are 5-2 on the road in the playoffs, have allowed 10 goals in five games following a loss in the playoffs.
"It's over. Just throw it out," Blues forward Patrick Maroon said. "Nothing you can do about it. You're going to have bad games, teams are going to play good throughout the series. This is a team that bounces back, and we find ways to fix our game and elevate our game and try to do things to get our team back to where our team needs to be."