SAN JOSE – Blues defenseman Robert Bortuzzo was even with center Joe Thornton at the Sharks’ blue line when he suddenly cut toward the goal.
With a surprised Thornton trailing him, Bortuzzo received a pass from Joel Edmundson and lifted a backhand shot past Martin Jones with 3:26 left in the second period, scoring what proved to be the game winner in the Blues’ 4-2 win Monday at the SAP Center that evened the Western Conference final at 1-1.
The playoffs seem to be set up perfectly for the finally healthy 39-year-old Thornton, who could win his first-ever Stanley Cup against the team that traded him to San Jose in 2005, the Boston Bruins. But for that to happen, Thornton and the Sharks can’t afford too many more missteps like the one that led to Bortuzzo’s first-ever playoff goal.
“Just some bad luck right now,” Thornton said. “On the one goal, I came out and bit hard and just couldn’t recover. We’re getting some chances, we’re just not burying them. But we’ve got another level, I think.”
Thornton was also penalized for tripping in the offensive zone with 7:18 left, hampering the Sharks’ comeback effort. He finished with a minus-2 rating Monday night and is a team-worst minus-7 in the playoffs.
After being an asset during the regular season, the third line of Thornton, right wing Kevin Labanc and left wing Marcus Sorensen has just two points in the last seven games (a goal by Labanc off an assist by Thornton in Game 1 against St. Louis).
“They may be not as dominant as they were, but it’s that time of the year,” captain Joe Pavelski said. “You have to play hard, you have to work through things, and we have a lot of confidence in them. It’s why they haven’t been split up or anything like that. We expect they can get the job done.
“It’s one line. We all need to get a little bit better. Tonight wasn’t our best.”
Coach Peter DeBoer refused to single out any one line for criticism, but acknowledged that he needs contributions from more than just Logan Couture, who provided both goals Monday and leads the NHL with 13 goals in the playoffs.
“He’s a complete stud,” Thornton said of Couture. “He’s been carrying this team for a long time now, and a lot of us have to hop on board and start doing our share now too.”
As the series moves to St. Louis for Game 3 on Wednesday, Thornton remains confident it will happen.
“This one is behind us,” Thornton said. “Our line played well, probably should have scored a couple but we didn’t. But we’ll bounce back.”
