NHL Playoffs 2012: San Jose Sharks Will Be Singing the Playoff Blues Yet Again

St. Louis may not have a ton of guys on the roster who have spent much time vying for a Stanley Cup, but that doesn't particularly matter for this year's team. This year, talent trumps experience for the Blues.

And even against the experienced Sharks, who face unfamiliar territory as the No. 7 seed in the West, the Blues have what it takes to win.

The Blues, champions of the Central Division and the second seed in the West, have very little experience making a deep run in the playoffs. They're in the postseason for the first time since 2009, when they were swept by the Canucks in the first round. Seventeen of the Blues' 26 players this year have never been past the first round.

But despite their limited experience, they are not lacking at all in the drive department. They want this, and in their minds, they're good enough to get it. They will go to any lengths. As Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Tom Timmermann on Monday, "From now on, unless someone is dead, they're day-to-day."

Though the majority of the Blues might be green when it comes to the playoffs, they have experience where it matters. Take, for instance, Hitchcock, who won the 1999 Stanley Cup with Dallas and twice took his teams to the conference finals.

He knows how to assemble and motivate a championship club, and he knows it. He told Timmermann:

"

Bottom line, this is why I coach. I think I'm good at this time of year. I think I can get the guys focused, and I can keep them focused. This is what I'm good at.

"

In addition to Hitchcock, the Blues have center Scott Nichol, who reached the conference finals with San Jose in each of the last two seasons. They have Jamie Langenbrunner, who won Cups with Dallas (1999) and New Jersey (2003).

And perhaps most importantly, they have a goaltending tandem that led them to a league-leading 1.90 goals against average in 2012. Jaroslav Halak has made three trips to the postseason, all with Montreal; Brian Elliott has played in just four postseason games, in 2009-10 with Ottawa.

Sometimes, postseason experience is simply an afterthought. In this case, St. Louis' 4-0 record against San Jose during the regular season is far more telling. As Hitchcock said, "There's a reason we're 4-0 against [San Jose]. We're 4-0 because we played better than they did and we have to find a way to keep that streak."

San Jose may be making its eighth straight playoff appearance, but it is doing so during a down-year. Its situation could not be more different from  the Blues'.  There's nothing that makes the next four games against San Jose any different from the last four. St. Louis is still the better team, and on a bigger stage, they have to prove it. It's that simple.

Every team has to start building its experience somewhere, and San Jose will likely be just the first challenge during a long playoff run for St. Louis.