The St. Louis Blues were unused to being behind in their Western Conference Quarterfinals series against the San Jose Sharks, but they entered the third period of Game 5 trailing 1-0. They fixed that with a superb final period, coming back for a 3-1 win that puts them in even more unusual territory: the Western Conference Semifinals.
Jamie Langenbrunner opened the scoring in the third period by sneaking a rebound by Antti Niemi on a rush.
Just 45 seconds later, David Perron got the game-winner on his first goal of the series, redirecting an Alex Pietrangelo shot from the blue line.
And even the final, game-sealing, empty-net goal by Andy McDonald was pretty. McDonald found the puck on a pass from Patrik Berglund, then backhanded it into the net from center ice.
Brian Elliott had 26 saves for the Blues, McDonald finished with eight points in the series, and Berglund had seven.
The Blues become the second team to advance in the 2012 NHL playoffs, winning their series 4-1 hours after the Nashville Predators did the same. The trip to the conference semifinals will be St. Louis' first since the 2001-2002 season.
For more on the Blues, visit St. Louis Game Time and SB Nation St. Louis. For more on the Sharks, head to Fear The Fin and SB Nation Bay Area.
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