Turek stopped 35 of 38 shots, many in spectacular fashion to lift the Blues to 2-1 series lead heading into Game 4 on Tuesday night. All told, he has turned back 77-of-82 shots and has held Sharks scoreless on 13 power play attempts, which is why his teammates like their chances of advancing.

Roman Turek receives well-deserved congratulations from his teammates after the game.(AP)

"He's very relaxed," said right winger Scott Young, who contributed three assists. "He's in a good groove. Roman is playing great for us."

That wasn't the case last year at this time when San Jose upset St. Louis in seven games and Turek absorbed most of the blame. Naturally, it helps to get a quick 3-0 lead, especially on enemy ice. That turned the anticipated defensive struggle into an offensive free-for-all, with the Sharks out-shooting the Blues 13-1 in the third period.

"They played hard and shot from everywhere," Turek said. "I like games like that rather than standing in the net."

St. Louis erupted for two quick goals and had another disallowed by the replay officials. Fifty-one seconds into the game, Jochen Hecht slipped past the San Jose defense and challenged goalie Evgeni Nabokov as the puck appeared to carom off defenseman Marcus Ragnarsson into the net. The goal was waved off, but was a sign of things to come.

At 2:31, Scott Mellanby deflected a shot by teammate Scott Young past the helpless Nabokov with time winding down on a power play. This goal counted and so did another at 4:16 when Hecht skated through the snoozing Sharks defense and fired a high shot that somehow eluded Nabokov.

"He played real well in St. Louis," Mellanby said of Nabokov. "We came out and just tried to emphasize shooting the puck from everywhere."

San Jose coach Darryl Sutter quickly called timeout to settle his troops and it proved a wise move. The Sharks finally recorded their first shot on goal five minutes into the game and started to take the initiative.

At least, so Sutter thought.

After a turnover, Cory Stillman flipped the puck past Nabokov again to lift the Blues to a 3-0 advantage. Another defensive lapse nearly cost San Jose again, Keith Tkachuk hitting the post and triggering boos from the hometown fans.

Had Scott Thornton not scored his second playoff goal late in the period, the Sharks would have heard an earful as they left the ice. The score ignited the sellout crowd and San Jose nearly added another goal on a power play.

The Sharks were the early aggressors in the second period, but couldn't solve Turek. He made several clutch saves and was rewarded at 6:17 when Young fed a sliding Dallas Drake for a pretty shorthanded goal and 4-1 lead.

Down but not dead, San Jose countered with its own shorthanded goal, Vincent Damphousse burning Turek after a feed from Stephane Matteau at 12:30. The energized Sharks unloaded on Turek and had several good scoring chances, prompting St. Louis coach Joel Quenneville to call a timeout.

The onslaught continued but Turek never caved. Sharks captain Owen Nolan almost pulled his team within a goal but fanned from close range.

A questionable elbowing penalty against Thornton -- he was back on the bench until ever-popular referee Kerry Fraser summoned him -- provided the Blues with another power play and they capitalized. Nabokov, looking like the rookie he is, stopped the initial shot from Young but failed to cover up, the puck squirting free for an easy rebound by on-rushing Pierre Turgeon.

This was the same Nabokov who was merely brilliant in Game 2 last Saturday at St. Louis, stopping 28 shots in a 1-0 win. On this night, he was overmatched and replaced in the final period by fellow rookie Miikka Kiprusoff.

"He just wasn't on top of his game," Sutter said.

Despite out-shooting St. Louis 25-21 after two periods, San Jose trailed 5-1.

The Sharks closed to 5-3 early in the final period on a Tony Granato goal and kept Turek busy for the remainder. Despite the third-period barrage, he held his ground and didn't let them get any closer.

While Sutter needs improved play from Nabokov to even the series, he could also use some offense from Nolan and newcomer Teemu Selanne. Neither has a point in three games.

The Blues smell blood and can put San Jose in a deep hole by winning Tuesday. Should they prevail, they could avenge last year's disappointment by closing out the series at home Thursday night.

"We got a chance to take a stranglehold," said Hecht.

Thanks to an acrobatic goalie.