NHL Three Stars: Sharks down Blues in pivotal Game 5

No. 1 Star: Joe Pavelski, San Jose Sharks

The San Jose captain fired two goals to give him an NHL leading 12 this playoffs in the Sharks’ 6-3 Game 5 win over the St. Louis Blues. He also added one assist. San Jose is up 3-2 in their Western Conference Final series with the Blues. If the Sharks win Game 6 they’ll make their first Stanley Cup Final appearance in franchise history.

No. 2 Star: Joe Thornton, San Jose Sharks

The big center notched three assists in his team’s win. Thornton’s 14 assists leads the playoffs. He is one of just three active players with at least 90 career Stanley Cup Playoff assists. The other two are Jaromir Jagr and Marian Hossa. His 17 points this postseason is tied for a career-high.

No. 3 Star: Marc-Edouard Vlasic, San Jose Sharks

Vlasic played shutdown defense on Blues star winger Vladimir Tarasenko, limiting him to one shot on goal. Vlasic also contributed offensively with a goal and an assist. He played a team-high 24:49.

[Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Hockey contest today]

Honorable Mention: St. Louis rookie Robby Fabbri scored a goal … Blues forward Troy Brouwer scored his eighth goal of the playoffs … St. Louis forward Jaden Schwartz also scored a goal … Blues captain David Backes notched an assist after sitting the last two periods of Game 4 with an upper body injury … Sharks forward Joel Ward scored two goals … San Jose defenseman Justin Braun was a plus-3 and played 24:11 overall.

Did You Know?  When teams are tied 2-2 in a best-of-seven Stanley Cup Playoffs series, the winner of Game 5 holds an all-time series record of 192-53.

Dishonorable Mention: The Blues mustered 21 shots on goal … St. Louis goaltender Jake Allen allowed four goals on 25 shots on goal in the loss. In his two starts this series he has an .881 save percentage … Tarasenko has been held without a point this entire series. He fired one shot on goal in Game 5.

MORE FROM YAHOO HOCKEY