NHL Playoffs 2016: Updated Stanley Cup Scores, Standings and Predictions

The St. Louis Blues are even with the San Jose Sharks as the two teams prepare to play Game 3 in the Western Conference Final Thursday night, but Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock knows his team has not played the way it did in the first two rounds of the playoffs.

While the Blues won the first game of the series on their home ice by a 2-1 margin, the Sharks appeared to have the better of the play and could easily have taken the game.

San Jose ratcheted up the intensity in Game 2 and pulled off 4-0 victory, leaving Hitchcock unhappy with his team's effort. The Blues are a tough, physical outifit when they are playing well, and they punish opponents with regularity. That has not happened against the Sharks.

Hitchcock was blunt with his players when they looked at video of the game Wednesday morning. 

"If you're worried about future relationships, you're in the wrong business at this time of year," Hitchcock told NHL.com writer Nicholas J. Cotsonika. "So direct coaching, eye-to-eye coaching, works. ... It's helping them understand what took place so they get rid of the emotion, get into the tactics of it."

Perhaps going on the road to the SAP Center in San Jose, California, will help the Blues. They won two of three road games in their opening-round series with the Chicago Blackhawks, and they followed that performance by winning three of four road games in the second-round series victory over the Dallas Stars.

Matchup	Standings	Upcoming Game	Time (ET)	Prediction
San Jose Sharks-St. Louis Blues	1-1	at San Jose, May 19	9 p.m.	St. Louis, 3-1
Tampa Bay Lightning-Pittsburgh Penguins	Pittsburgh, 2-1	at Tampa Bay, May 20	8 p.m.	Pittsburgh, 5-3

That should help the Blues prepare to get back their usual hard-hitting, and sharp-shooting game. Hitchcock seemed to get his message across to his players, and Paul Stastny explained to reporters what the Blues have to do if they are going to assert themselves against the Sharks.

"We need all five guys working together if we're going to be successful," Stastny said. "There were too many times we got caught watching a little bit."

It's one thing to get the message; it's quite another to put the plan into action. The Sharks will clearly have a lot to say about it, and they play a similar style.

Billy Hurst-USA TODAY Sports

Peter DeBoer's team also likes to play a physical game by using size and strength down low to make plays and get opportunities in the prime scoring areas. Brent Burns took advantage of that in Game 2 with two goals, and he was joined in the scoring column by Tommy Wingels and Dainius Zubrus (empty net).

Burns has the ability to shoot from all angles, and he is not shy about letting his big shot go. He is equally adept with his slap shot and his wrist shot.

"Best I've ever seen," DeBoer told NHL.com's Shawn P. Roarke about Burns' shooting ability from distance. "I think [it's] just how he can get it off from every angle, how he can get it to the net off balance, in bad spots. He finds a way to get it there. If it's in the right spot, it's going in. That's a great weapon for us."

That weapon has been powerful throughout the playoffs, as he has scored six goals and added 12 assists. The Blues are going to have to figure out a way to slow him down if they are going to get back in the win column in Game 3.

In the East, the Pittsburgh Penguins pulled off a dominant 4-2 road win in Game 3 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Phil Kessel and Carl Hagelin each notched a goal and an assist, while Game 2 overtime hero Sidney Crosby scored a power-play goal for the Penguins.

While the initial inclination would be to say Andrei Vasilevskiy was not on top of his game in goal, that would not be accurate. The Penguins fired 48 shots at him, and he made several game-changing saves.

Starting goalie Ben Bishop practiced Wednesday before the game, but there are no assurances about his return to game action.

However, Tampa Bay's goaltending was not the problem in Game 3. They got outskated, outshot and outworked, and they are going to have to turn things around if they are going to even the series in Game 4 Friday night.

Predictions

The Sharks took the Blues to the woodshed Tuesday night. Look for a much better effort in Game 3 at the Shark Tank.

The Blues need Vladimir Tarasenko to show off his vicious wrist shot. Look for Troy Brouwer and Robby Fabbri to give him support.

St. Louis will get back to its game and come out with the 3-1 road victory.

It may not be so easy for the Lightning to even their series with the Penguins. Even though they are at home, they got outskated severely in Game 3, and the Penguins are finding their stride. Kessel is red-hot, with seven goals and nine assists in the postseason. Crosby has scored in back-to-back games.

Pittsburgh will take a 3-1 series lead in Game 4 with a 5-3 victory.