Outsourced from the NHL's asset mill long ago, Troy Brouwer has firsthand knowledge on what a long, abnormally productive postseason performance can do for one's biweekly pay stub.

Instead of realizing his inflated worth alongside former teammates with the Chicago Blackhawks (or the Washington Capitals, for that matter), however, Brouwer's cashing in several seasons later with the Central Division rival St. Louis Blues.

Brouwer scored his sixth and seventh goals this postseason in Saturday's critical Game 4, leading St. Louis to a 6-3 win over the San Jose Sharks to even the Western Conference final at two games apiece.

His total through 18 games not only matches Vladimir Tarasenko and David Backes for the team lead, but it also equals the output from his previous 78 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

After the win, Brouwer opened up about the challenge he received from management when he was brought to St. Louis, and how it's helped him succeed this spring.

"I had a lot of expectations on me this year," Brouwer said, "with what (GM Doug Armstrong) has expected from me when he traded for me. Telling me that my season was going to be judged on how I handled myself, and how I played in the playoffs and down the stretch.

"When you have expectations like that on you, you want to perform your best."

You can bet there will similar dialogue this summer when Brouwer decides on his playing future. Only his performance this spring will heighten the expectation, from wherever the source.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Jake Allen didn't know if he'd get an opportunity. But he knew he'd be prepared if he did.

The St. Louis Blues turned to Allen in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals, all but a must-win situation on the road against the San Jose Sharks. And Allen delivered. He stopped 31 of 34 shots, and, despite all three Sharks goals being scored in the third period, was exceptional as San Jose pushed.

"I've been ready, practicing as hard as I can," Allen said after the victory. "I felt confident out there."

Head coach Ken Hitchcock said Allen's numbers Saturday don't do him justice.

"He only let one goal in. Any time your goalie lets one goal in, that's a really good sign. He only really let one in."

And Hitchcock said the goalie gave his team the boost it was looking for.

"Allen gave us exactly what we needed. He's a competitive son of a gun. We needed a battler in there. We needed somebody to really help us play better defense. We played with more passion in front of him in our own zone because I made the goalie change. I had to make that decision.

"I just felt like we were allowing them too much open space with (Brian Elliott) in there, and Ells was getting bombarded. We needed to just dig in a little bit deeper defensively if we were going to have a chance in this series."

Hitchcock laughed when asked if Allen would start Game 5.

"You know, I didn't think that question was coming. I'll let you know tomorrow," he said.

With the series heading back to St. Louis tied 2-2, Hitchcock is optimistic, after his team played its game Saturday, not San Jose's.

"When (key players) raise their emotional level, it's a good sign," he said. "They went to another level for us. This is a big step. We came here to win a hockey game and we did it. If we continue down this path, I like our chances to win."

"We went back to our roots," said Troy Brouwer. "Collectively and individually, guys really brought a great game tonight."

"We knew we had this in us," Allen concluded. "It's good to show it."

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

If history is any indication, the next teams to win in the conference finals will have a distinct edge.

With the St. Louis Blues and Tampa Bay Lightning both winning Game 4 against the San Jose Sharks and Pittsburgh Penguins respectively, the Eastern and Western Conference championship rounds are deadlocked at two wins apiece.

And when teams are tied 2-2 in a best-of-seven series, the winner of Game 5 has an all-time series record of 290-81, a success rate of 78.2 percent, according to Elias Sports.

The Blues and Penguins will host the seemingly pivotal Game 5s, with at least two games remaining in each series.

Time will tell if this high probability of success holds up this time around.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

St. Louis Blues forwards David Backes and Robby Fabbri are hurting.

Both played fewer than 10 minutes Saturday in the Blues' 6-3 Game 4 win, but there's no word on what's ailing them. The good news? They should be fine for Game 5, according to head coach Ken Hitchcock, who said he'll have an update on the pair in the days ahead.

Fabbri played only 9:21, while Backes saw only 5:34 of action, not taking a shift after the first period but remaining on the bench throughout the game with his team.

He's the captain, after all.

Backes and Fabbri are integral contributors up front for the Blues. Backes has 13 points, while Fabbri picked up an assist in Game 4 to give him 14 postseason points.

Game 5 goes Monday night at 8 p.m. ET in St. Louis.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

It's a best of three now.

The St. Louis Blues tied up the Western Conference finals at 2-2 after a 6-3 win in Game 4 on Saturday, chasing San Jose Sharks goalie Martin Jones from the crease. Jones, though, is confident heading into Game 5, as he and his team have been exceptional after losses in the postseason.

"We've responded well any time we've needed to all season long," he said. "We'll be ready for the next one."

Jones allowed four goals on 19 shots before being replaced by James Reimer. The Sharks woke up in the third period, outshooting the Blues 16-5 and scoring three times, but the game was over after 40 minutes, with the Sharks down 4-0.

Head coach Peter DeBoer echoed his goaltender.

"We didn't execute tonight. We got burnt. Short memory and we'll move on to the next one. We've always responded in the right way."

The Sharks are 3-1 following a loss this spring.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Troy Brouwer and Kyle Brodziak each scored twice, Jake Allen stopped 31 shots in his first start of the postseason and the St. Louis Blues bounced back from consecutive shutout losses to beat the San Jose Sharks 6-3 on Saturday to even the Western Conference final at two games apiece.

Coach Ken Hitchcock hoped the change in goalie would spark his dormant offense and the move paid off as the Blues controlled the play from the start of Game 4.

Brouwer and Jori Lehtera scored in the first period and the Blues rolled after getting dominated the previous two games when they were outscored 7-0. Alex Pietrangelo added an empty-netter to seal it.

Now it will be up to San Jose to reverse the momentum in Game 5 on Monday night in St. Louis.

Martin Jones, who became the first Sharks goalie ever with consecutive playoff shutouts, was pulled midway through the second period after allowing four goals on 19 shots. James Reimer allowed one goal on seven shots in his first action of the playoffs.

Joe Pavelski set a San Jose franchise record with his 10th goal of the postseason. Chris Tierney and Melker Karlsson also scored in the third for the Sharks, but it wasn't enough as San Jose went 0 for 5 on the power play and allowed a short-handed goal.

There was some cause for concern for St. Louis. Captain David Backes did not play in the final two periods and the Blues did not disclose what injury he had.

St. Louis took control early in the second period after it seemed like San Jose had gained momentum from killing a two-man advantage and then drawing a penalty from the Blues.

But the power play that looked so lethal for most of the playoffs was not clicking this game. The Sharks struggled to set up in the offensive zone and gave up a pair of two-on-one chances the other way. The second of those came after an errant pass from Joe Thornton and St. Louis capitalized when Brodziak took a pass from Jaden Schwartz and beat Jones to make it 3-0.

Brodziak struck again a few minutes later off a pass from Dmitrij Jaskin and the Blues cruised to the win that has them the closest they have been to the Stanley Cup final since losing a seven-game conference final to Calgary in 1986.

The Sharks played with a series lead in the conference final for the first time ever but now find themselves tied after four games, just as they were in their first trip in 2004 when they lost to Calgary in six.

Along with giving Allen the start, Hitchcock put the struggling Robby Fabbri and Vladimir Tarasenko on the same line with Lehtera and put defenseman Joel Edmundson back in the lineup after benching him in Game 3.

The changes paid dividends as the Blues got off to a fast start. They hemmed the Sharks in their own zone with a strong forecheck and took a 2-0 lead after one.

Brouwer opened the scoring after Brent Burns was sent off for tripping, beating Jones with a one-timer off a feed from Fabbri to end St. Louis' scoreless drought after 156:59.

The Blues added to the lead following a turnover by Paul Martin in his own zone. Jones robbed Fabbri with a spectacular stick save but Lehtera was right there to knock in the rebound for his second goal of the series.

NOTES: Blues F Scottie Upshall sat for the second straight game with an undisclosed injury. ... Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice opened the Sharks dressing room door to lead them on the ice before the game.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

John Quenneville may have scored the nicest goal of the postseason at any level this spring.

The New Jersey Devils prospect - and son of Chicago Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville - roofed the puck after putting his stick between his legs on a breakaway at the Memorial Cup on Saturday.

Quenneville, who's playing for the WHL-champion Brandon Wheat Kings, was drafted 30th overall by the Devils in 2014.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.