Sharks End Blues Hope of Stanley Cup Appearance

Captain Joe Pavelski scored an early goal, Joel Ward had two of his own and the Sharks advanced to their first Stanley Cup final in franchise history by beating the St. Louis Blues 5-2 on Wednesday night in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals.

Joonas Donskoi also scored, Logan Couture had an empty-netter and Martin Jones made 24 saves as a Sharks team notorious for postseason letdowns will now play for the championship that has eluded stars such as Pavelski, Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau for so many years.

"Unbelievable, especially to do it at home," Thornton said. "These guys have been waiting 25 years for this. ... It's pretty sweet."

Thornton assisted on Pavelski's goal less than four minutes into the game to set the tone, and Marleau had two assists in the third period that set off chants of "We Want The Cup! We Want The Cup!"

Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final will be Monday night. The Sharks will either host Tampa Bay or visit Pittsburgh, depending on which team wins Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals Thursday night.

"It's a great moment for those guys who have put in a lot of work but we still have another series to go," Couture said. "We still have four more wins to try to get. It's another step. This is the third one now. We're ready for that next challenge."

With the loss, the Blues' postseason woes continue as the franchise still seeks its first championship and first trip to the Cup final since 1970. Coach Ken Hitchcock's second goalie change of the series did not work as Brian Elliott gave up four goals on 26 shots in his return to the net.

Vladimir Tarasenko, a 40-goal scorer in the regular season, got his first points of the series when he scored twice in the third period, but it was too late for the Blues, who still trailed 4-2.

Wednesday, May 25 Scoreboard

San Jose 5, St. Louis 2

Game 6 - Sharks won 4-2

Thursday, May 26 Schedule (Time Central)

Tampa Bay at Pittsburgh

Game 7 - Series tied 3-3, 7 p.m.

Friday, May 27

No Games Scheduled

Saturday, May 28

No Games Scheduled

Sunday, May 29

No Games Scheduled

Monday, May 30

TBD at TBD

Game 1 - Series tied 0-0, 7 p.m.