| |
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The St. Louis Blues didn't miss leading scorer Pavol Demitra a bit in their playoff opener, making up for his absence with youthful energy.
The Blues got two goals and an assist from third-line winger Jochen Hecht, a 13-goal scorer in the regular season, in Wednesday night's 5-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks. Hecht is a 22-year-old rookie.
|  | | San Jose goalie Steve Shields faced 37 shots from Pierre Turgeon and his Blues teammates. |
Fellow rookies Lubos Bartecko and Marty Reasoner, both 23, each scored his first career goal. All three said nerves were not a factor.
"It's still hockey," said Hecht, who had two goals in five playoff games last season. "Nothing changes. You just have more body contact in the playoffs."
Demitra, who had 28 goals and 75 points in the regular season, sustained a concussion March 23 and isn't expected back at least until the second round. The Blues also were without 24-goal scorer Scott Young, who has a dislocated right shoulder, but is expected back Saturday for Game 2 of the best-of-7 Western Conference series.
The NHL's top-seeded team has plugged various players into coach Joel Quenneville's system all season.
"We got some production from some guys who you might have wondered how they'd respond," Quenneville said. "Many nights somebody responded. We did what we had to do."
Hecht, 22, scoffed at the notion he was now Mr. Playoffs.
"I wouldn't say that," Hecht said. "They just started and you have to go game to game. But I think my experience last year helped."
Goalie Roman Turek overcame a shaky beginning to his first playoff start for the Blues, who had a franchise-record 114 points in the regular season. Hecht snapped a 2-2 tie with the only goal of the second period and Chris Pronger added a third-period power-play goal for St. Louis.
The Blues were 4-0-1 in the regular season against the Sharks, who had a franchise-record 87 points but a sub-.500 record.
Two unlikely sources of offense, Dave Lowry and Mike Rathje, scored for the eighth-seeded Sharks. Lowry, who scored on a wrist shot at the 46-second mark of the first period, had one goal in the regular season. Rathje had two.
Owen Nolan, who had 44 goals, scored with San Jose shorthanded with 5:20 to go, making it 5-3.
The Sharks were without second-leading scorer Jeff Friesen, who was ill with flu-like symptoms, possibly food poisoning. Friesen had 26 goals and 61 points in the regular season.
"I just know he's really sick for something that sudden," coach Darryl Sutter said. "I don't know if it was food poisoning because everybody ate together. Hey, we missed him."
Before the game, Friesen was on intravenous fluids.
Turek, who saw no action in the playoffs as the backup to Ed Belfour with the Stanley Cup champion Dallas Stars last season, gave up a goal on the first shot he saw as Lowry found himself alone in the slot. Turek is 7-0-1 for his career in the regular season against the Sharks and allowed only two more goals on the last 30 shots he faced.
"It's not the first time it happened this season," Turek said. "It's good for me. Right after the goal I said it's OK, just keep focused on the next play."
Sharks goalie Steve Shields took the blame for the loss.
"Whenever you allow five goals you've got to look at your performance," Shields said. "I don't think I played great. The first part of the game I was probably real nervous."
Hecht was one of 12 players on a deep roster to score 10 or more goals, finishing with 34 points in 63 games. He put the Blues ahead to stay at 3-2 on a rebound shot at 2:29 of the second.
Pronger made it a two-goal gap at 3:45 when he knocked in a rebound from mid-air on a power play before Shields could glove the puck. Reasoner made it 5-2 on a backhander at 8:49, just a few seconds after Shields thwarted Hecht's bid for a hat trick from the slot.
After Lowry set the tone for the high-scoring first period, the Blues took the lead on a backhander by Hecht at 5:41 and a rebound shot by Bartecko 1:54 later.
The Sharks, after going about 13 minutes without a shot, tied it when Rathje's shot from the right circle deflected off two players before eluding Turek at 18:18.
| |
ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
San Jose Clubhouse
St. Louis Clubhouse
RECAPS
Dallas 2
Edmonton 1
Toronto 2
Ottawa 0
St. Louis 5
San Jose 3
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Chris Pronger scores the power-play goal.
avi: 883 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Dave Lowry beats Roman Turek for the goal.
avi: 498 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Lubos Bartecko puts the rebound past Steve Shields.
avi: 697 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Jochen Hecht says things went his way Wednesday night.
wav: 168 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
|
