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Moot point Presidents' Trophy-winning Blues on verge of elimination
Posted: Thursday April 20, 2000 11:36 PM
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The St. Louis Blues' regular-season championship isn't doing them much good right now. For the second straight postseason, they're facing a 3-1 series deficit. The San Jose Sharks, who finished 27 points behind the Blues and were believed to be easy pickings entering the playoffs, can eliminate them in Game 5 on Friday night. "Three-one is a great position to be in, but this is far from over," Owen Nolan said. "The feeling in our room is they have everything to prove, though. All the pressure is on them and we're playing pressure-free." Last year, the Blues were down 3-1 in the first round against the Phoenix Coyotes. That was a more difficult comeback, because the Blues were the lower seed and had to win Game 7 on the road. At least this time, their franchise-record 114-point season guarantees them a seventh game -- if they make it that far. The Sharks have won three straight since the Blues won the opener. "All year we were finding ways to win and right now it just isn't happening," defenseman Al MacInnis said. "If we keep working hard, hopefully we can take a page out of last year's book against Phoenix." The Blues have struggled offensively without leading scorer Pavol Demitra, who had 75 points. Demitra has been out with post-concussion syndrome since March 24 with no return date imminent, and the Slovak line known for playing keepaway with the puck while waiting for openings has been quiet. In the first round the line has only one goal, by Lubos Bartecko. It has scored only twice overall in the 14 games Demitra has missed due to injuries. The Sharks had only 87 points in the regular season and were 0-4-1 against the Blues. They've gotten a lot of breaks in the series, with five goals deflecting off Blues players and a sixth accidentally tossed into the net by defenseman Marc Bergevin in Game 2. Gary Suter got the game-winner in Game 4 on another improbable play. His 60-foot slap shot deflected off Jamal Mayers and then skipped off the ice before bouncing past goalie Roman Turek at 8:37 of the third period for a 3-2 victory. "Every game, we've gotten a fortunate bounce," Suter said. "Now we have a lot of work left. We can't let down at all."
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