BLUES 2, SHARKS 1: B.J. Crombeen and Andy McDonald scored while Brian Elliott came within 67 seconds of his first career playoff shutout as St. Louis took a commanding 3-1 lead in its Western Conference quarterfinal series.

Patrik Berglund and David Perron each notched two assists for the Blues, who can record their first playoff series win since 2002 and advance to the conference semifinals with a home victory on Saturday.

St. Louis got on the board less than 7 1/2 minutes into the game. Berglund made a pass from the right side of the net to Crombeen, who fired the puck past Antti Niemi from the slot for his first tally in 12 career playoff contests.

The Sharks received their fourth power play of the night when Blues defenseman Barret Jackman was called for cross-checking at 8:41 of the third. However, Patrick Marleau was given an interference penalty with 31 seconds remaining on the man advantage, and St. Louis cashed in on its ensuing power play to create some breathing room.

Niemi stopped Berglund's deflection of Perron's shot from the top of the left faceoff circle. The rebound bounced around in front, and McDonald whacked in the loose puck in the crease for his third goal of the series and a 2-0 lead.

Elliott, who set a franchise record with nine shutouts during the regular season and teamed up with Jaroslav Halak in Game 2 for the first combined playoff blanking in club history, was denied his first solo postseason shutout when Sharks captain Joe Thornton beat him from the top of the slot late in the third.

San Jose was unable to register another shot on goal and lost for the seventh time in eight meetings with St. Louis in 2011-12.

Elliott finished with 24 saves while Niemi stopped 22 shots for the Sharks, who have lost all four times they've trailed 3-1 in a series.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Berglund registered his third multi-point performance of the series. ... McDonald has had a hand in all six of St. Louis' power-play goals, scoring two and assisting on the other four. ... St. Louis' Alex Steen and D Alex Pietrangelo each played a team-high 23 minutes, 12 seconds, while San Jose D Dan Boyle led all players with 30:29 of ice time.