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BOX SCORE
ST. LOUIS (AP) – The San Jose Sharks are leaving St. Louis with
a victory. The Blues were left with an all-too-familiar feeling.
Scott Thornton scored on a breakaway at 13:52 of the second
period, and rookie Evgeni Nabokov made his first playoff victory a
shutout as the Sharks won 1-0 Saturday to even their best-of-seven
Western Conference playoff series at a game apiece.
|  | | Marcus Ragnarsson, left, and Keith Tkachuk watch the puck go by during the Sharks' 1-0 win. Ragnarsson dislocated his left shoulder during the game. |
It's the same trick San Jose pulled last year, when the Sharks
lost Game 1 in St. Louis before winning three straight and beating
the Presidents' Trophy winners in seven games.
"I think we know it's a long series," Thornton said. "It's
probably going to be a seven-game battle and tonight we just wanted
to keep our composure, play a little tighter defense and keep out
of the penalty box."
Game 3 is Monday in San Jose, and the Blues aren't interested in
making comparisons to 2000.
"That's last year," Blues captain Chris Pronger said. "This
is a new team and we have new players. If you worry about last
year, you're out of luck."
Thornton, assisted by Vincent Damphousse and Niklas Sundstrom,
got behind the St. Louis defense for a clean break and beat Blues
goalie Roman Turek with a wrist shot. The breakaway was the first
decent scoring chance for San Jose, which managed just three shots
in the first period and finished with 19.
"You obviously don't want to try and shut a team out every
night," Thornton said.
"We'd like to score more than one goal a game."
It was Damphousse's third game since returning to the San Jose
lineup after missing almost three months with a shoulder injury.
Sharks coach Darryl Sutter said Damphousse is getting stronger with
every shift, and his assist Saturday demonstrated how much the
Sharks rely on their depth.
"Hopefully, he'll get stronger as the series goes on," Sutter
said. "If we have to shorten our bench very much, we're going to
have a hard time."
Turek, who stopped 21 shots and allowed only a late goal in Game
1, again played well. He has allowed just three goals in his last
four starts.
"You cannot say one mistake beat you," Turek said. "It's just
the way it unfolded. In the playoffs, it doesn't matter if you
score one goal or four. All that matters is winning."
Thornton, who made his debut with San Jose against St. Louis in
October, had 19 goals and 17 assists in the regular season – both
career highs.
Nabokov, who turned away Keith Tkachuk's shot on a 2-on-1 break
in the first period, made 28 saves – including 13 in the third.
"He's won so many games for us all season long," Thornton
said. "The kid, he's young and he's a rookie, but he's got such
great poise in the net. Our team is very confident in front of him
right now."
Teemu Selanne, the Sharks' big late-season acquisition, again
was not a factor. Selanne, who closed the season with 13 points in
12 games for San Jose, didn't have a shot in Game 2, after just one
shot in 17 shifts in the opener.
"Both teams played a pretty tight game defensively and did not
give me many chances," Selanne said. "But the chances you get you
have to take advantage of. We know it's not going to be easy, but
we know as a group that we can beat these guys."
Tkachuk, who in 10 previous seasons never has made it past the
first round of the playoffs, had five shots for the Blues.
Game notes
Sharks defenseman Gary Suter, who left Game 1 after a hard
check into the glass by Scott Mellanby, didn't play. He was
replaced in the lineup by Brad Stuart. ... San Jose captain Owen
Nolan, who led the Sharks with eight points against the Blues in
last year's playoffs, hasn't scored in the current series. ... The
Blues are 9-20 in Game 2s after winning the first game of a playoff
series, and are 10-23 in series when losing the second game.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
San Jose Clubhouse
St. Louis Clubhouse
Sharks-Blues Series Page
RECAPS
Detroit 4
Los Angeles 0
Buffalo 4
Philadelphia 3
San Jose 1
St. Louis 0
Pittsburgh 2
Washington 1
Edmonton 4
Dallas 3
Toronto 3
Ottawa 0
Colorado 2
Vancouver 1
AUDIO/VIDEO
 San Jose goalie Evgeni Nabokov stretches to keep the puck from crossing the line.
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San Jose's Scott Thornton gets behind the defense for a goal on Roman Turek.
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RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 After a cautious Game 1, Scott Thornton and the Sharks tried to step it up in Game 2 (Courtesy: ABC Sports).
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