Jake Allen was straight and to the point after the St. Louis Blues dropped Game 5 at home to the San Jose Sharks.

"I didn't get the job done," Allen said, according to NHL.com's Lou Korac.

The goaltender, starting his second straight game of the Western Conference Final in place of Brian Elliott, allowed four goals on only 25 shots. He didn't have much of a chance on Joe Pavelski's game-winning goal in the third period, the Sharks captain deftly tipping the puck into the net only 16 seconds into the frame. But Allen acknowledged what a back-breaker the marker was.

"Took the juice out of us right away," he said. "Not the way we wanted to start."

Blues head coach Ken Hitchock characterized Allen's play as "fine," and wouldn't commit to Allen or Elliott for a do-or-die Game 6. He said he'd discuss it with his staff Tuesday before making a call.

The decision on which Blues goalie starts will be a major talking point over the next 24 hours. Game 6 is Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET.

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Jake Allen was straight and to the point after the St. Louis Blues dropped Game 5 at home to the San Jose Sharks.

"I didn't get the job done," Allen said, according to NHL.com's Lou Korac.

The goaltender, starting his second straight game of the Western Conference Final in place of Brian Elliott, allowed four goals on only 25 shots. He didn't have much of a chance on Joe Pavelski's game-winning goal in the third period, the Sharks captain deftly tipping the puck into the net only 16 seconds into the frame. But Allen acknowledged what a back-breaker the marker was.

"Took the juice out of us right away," he said. "Not the way we wanted to start."

Blues head coach Ken Hitchock characterized Allen's play as "fine," and wouldn't commit to Allen or Elliott for a do-or-die Game 6. He said he'd discuss it with his staff Tuesday before making a call.

The decision on which Blues goalie starts will be a major talking point over the next 24 hours. Game 6 is Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET.

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Vladimir Tarasenko's dynamic scoring punch has completely disappeared in the Western Conference Final.

The St. Louis Blues sniper was held without a point for the fifth consecutive game in Monday night's Game 5 loss to the San Jose Sharks.

Tarasenko managed only one shot on goal in nearly 19 minutes of ice time during the 6-3 defeat that gave the Sharks a 3-2 series lead.

He's been neutralized by Marc-Edouard Vlasic and the Sharks' defense.

Tarasenko recorded only two shots on goal during his 20 minutes on the ice in the Blues' 6-3 victory in Game 4.

The 24-year-old has gone ice cold since piling up 13 points in 14 games over the first two playoff rounds against the Chicago Blackhawks and Dallas Stars.

Tarasenko led the Blues with 40 goals and 74 points in the regular season, and he was on a historic point-per-game pace early in the playoffs.

Now, St. Louis is on the brink of elimination, and its brightest star looks lost.

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ST. LOUIS - Joe Pavelski scored two goals, including the go-ahead score in the opening minute of the third period, and the San Jose Sharks beat the St. Louis Blues 6-3 to take a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference final on Monday night.

Joel Ward also scored twice including one of two empty-netters in the final minute for San Jose, which can close it out at home on Wednesday night. The Sharks have never reached the Stanley Cup Final. Joe Thornton had three assists for the Sharks.

Pavelski leads the playoffs with 12 goals and has three two-goal games, one in each series. The Sharks' captain added an assist and is tied with teammate Logan Couture for the postseason points lead, each with a franchise-record 21 points.

Related: Watch: Pavelski reclaims goal-scoring lead with nifty tip

Rookie Robby Fabbri scored and David Backes had an assist for St. Louis. Both were questionable coming off injuries in Game 4.

The Blues are just 4-6 at home in the postseason, and failed to hold leads of 2-1 and 3-2 in Game 5. They're 6-3 on the road.

The Sharks were 2 for 3 on the power play in the win.

Troy Brouwer batted in a rebound from midair for St. Louis and Ward also scored a similar goal for San Jose with his first of the game.

Related: Watch: Blues' Brouwer bats in 8th goal of playoffs

Brouwer leads St. Louis with eight goals in 19 games this postseason after totaling seven in his first 78 playoff games.

Pavelski was left alone in the slot on a power play at 18:33 of the second and beat Jake Allen to tie it at 3-3. He redirected Brent Burns' drive from the point 16 seconds into the third to put the Sharks in front to stay.

San Jose goalie Martin Jones allowed three goals on the Blues' first 13 shots, but stopped all seven shots in the third.

The Sharks scored first on Marc-Edouard Vlasic's first goal of the postseason from the point at 3:51 of the first period.

Jaden Schwartz snapped a 13-game goal drought to tie it on a rebound at 7:04 of the first.

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Joe Pavelski and Nikita Kucherov appear to be in a heated game of H-O-R-S-E.

A day after the Tampa Bay Lightning forward scored twice to take the postseason lead in goals, Pavelski responded with two of his own to reclaim his rightful spot on top.

After firing home a one-timer late in the second period to knot Monday's game at 3-3, the San Jose Sharks captain found the back of the net again early in the third period, deflecting a Brent Burns shot past Jake Allen for his 12th of the playoffs.

(Video courtesy: NHL.com)

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Troy Brouwer is proving his worth in this postseason.

The veteran forward batted a rebound in out of mid-air to give the St. Louis Blues a 2-1 lead over the San Jose Sharks in the first period of Game 5 on Monday night.

Brouwer now leads the Blues in goal scoring in the playoffs, and sits in a tie for second in points with 13.

He also scored the winner in Game 7 to eliminate the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round last month.

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St. Louis Blues forwards David Backes and Robby Fabbri will play in Game 5 against the San Jose Sharks on Monday.

Both forwards were question marks heading into Game 5 after Backes left Game 4 after the first period with an apparent upper-body injury and Fabbri left early in the third period with a lower-body injury.

Fabbri leads the Blues in scoring in the postseason with 14 points, while Backes sits tied for second with 13.

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The Chicago Blackhawks have signed defenseman Michal Kempny, according to ESPN's Craig Custance.

The 25-year-old spent last season with Omsk Avangard of the KHL where he posted five goals and 16 assists in 59 games. Prior to that, the Czech defender spent six years in the Czech League.

Kempny was one of first four defensemen named to the Czech Republic's World Cup of Hockey roster. He most recently represented his country at the World Hockey Championship where he had two assists in eight games.

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The Detroit Red Wings will take any opportunity to shell out jabs at the expense of the Colorado Avalanche.

The Red Wings put their own spin on an internet holiday after seeing the NHL's official account make a reference to San Jose Sharks forward Tomas "Ninja" Hertl.

That's Darren McCarty wailing on a turtling Claude Lemieux in the infamous brawl between the rival clubs on March 26, 1997.

The Avalanche were quick to point out the Red Wings' lack of originality.

Turns out Detroit made the same reference on the anniversary of the incident earlier this season.

The Avalanche then pointed out that the Red Wings also posted the same photo on last year's anniversary, but Detroit wasn't about to apologize.

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The Carolina Hurricanes have taken the first step in locking up forward Victor Rask.

The club has reached out to Rask's agent regarding a contract and are now awaiting a response, general manager Ron Francis told Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News and Observer.

Rask is coming off his second season with the club where he finished second on the team with 21 goals and tied for second with 48 points in 80 games. He will become a restricted free agent if not signed before July 1.

Francis also noted the 23-year-old underwent shoulder surgery at the end of the season, and according to Francis, "The surgery went really well and he'll be ready for training camp."

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