BC-HKN–Blues-Sharks, Bjt,0656

Sharks 3, Blues 1

By GREG BEACHAM

AP Sports Writer

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) – Patrick Marleau’s slump is history, and the San Jose Sharks are halfway to the second round of the playoffs.

Marleau scored three goals and Evgeni Nabokov made 25 saves, leading the Sharks to a 3-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues in Game 2 of their first-round series Saturday.

Though Nabokov was nearly impeccable again, San Jose took a 2-0 lead in the series thanks to a career-defining performance by Marleau, the All-Star who scored just one goal in the final 17 games of the regular season.

The Sharks’ 24-year-old captain has been inconsistent throughout his career, but his maturity is growing along with his abilities. Marleau scored in each period of a penalty-filled game, leading San Jose to an easy win over the hotheaded Blues, who gave San Jose 10 power plays in the first two periods.

After getting two power-play goals, Marleau sneaked behind the St. Louis defense early in the third for a short-handed goal on a pass from Vincent Damphousse, who had two assists. The sellout crowd threw hundreds of hats onto the ice.

Nabokov was on the verge of his second straight shutout until he allowed a terrible short-handed goal to Doug Weight with 2:09 to play, ending a streak of 127 scoreless minutes.

No matter: San Jose will head to St. Louis for Game 3 on Monday with confidence and a two-game cushion. Game 4 of the best-of-seven series is Tuesday.

The second-seeded Sharks, who set a franchise record with 104 points while winning the Pacific Division, have a 2-0 lead in a playoff series for the second time in their 13-year history. In 1995, they went two games ahead of the Calgary Flames before holding on for a seven-game, first-round victory.

While the Sharks thrived with discipline and speed, the Blues and goalie Chris Osgood came unraveled.

St. Louis was called for 11 minor penalties in the first two periods. Some were questionable, others were glaringly obvious – and all were inexcusable for a seventh-seeded team already trailing in the series after San Jose’s 1-0 overtime victory in the opener.

Nabokov wasn’t tested nearly as much as in Game 1, when he made 26 saves. The Blues never found their rhythm in the rematch, and Nabokov stopped Dallas Drake on a first-period breakaway that was the Blues’ best scoring chance until Weight’s goal.

After matching nearly every save by Nabokov in Game 1, something just wasn’t right for Osgood, who appeared to twist his knee earlier in the game. He failed to make easy saves, gave up long rebounds and tripped behind the net twice – and after Marleau’s third goal, he was replaced by Reinhard Divis.

The Blues lost their cool after a few early calls against them. Chris Pronger spent eight of the game’s first 14 minutes in the penalty box for a variety of infractions, and Marleau finally scored on the Sharks’ fifth power play.

The Blues unraveled again in the second period after Marleau’s second goal. After Kyle McLaren flattened Petr Cajanek with a legal check, Keith Tkachuk got a slashing penalty while trying to goad McLaren into a fight.

With 3:39 left in the third, Mike Sillinger went after Scott Hannan, punching the defenseman with a gloved hand. Pronger got two more minor penalties in the resulting scrum, exiting the ice to deafening jeers.

Notes: The Sharks played without third-leading scorer Alyn McCauley, who hurt his shoulder in Game 1. Scott Mellanby, an 18-year veteran, returned to the Blues’ lineup after missing the opener with an undisclosed injury. … The Blues didn’t like any of the first-period calls against them. After Marleau scored following a roughing penalty against Sillinger, Dallas Drake tapped his stick on the ice and pointed at referee Stephen Walkom, shouting, “That one’s for you!”

AP-ES-04-10-04 1818EDT