Jamie Langenbrunner and David Perron scored two goals in 45 seconds, and Andy McDonald added an empty-net insurance tally late in the third period as the St. Louis Blues won their first playoff series in a decade, beating the San Jose Sharks 3-1 in front of a standing-room-only crowd at the Scottrade Center.
San Jose took the lead with 41 seconds left in the second period, when Joe Thornton beat Brian Elliott to break a scoreless tie. But Lagenbrunner put one past Anti Niemmi at 11:16 of the third. As the crowd was still celebrating, Perron tipped in a shot from defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, which proved to be the game winner.
The second-ranked Blues started the series with a double overtime loss at Scottrade, and until their 3-0 win a week ago, had not won a playoff game in eight years. San Jose has played in the last two Western Conference finals.
