The San Jose Sharks earned a 6-3 win over the St. Louis Blues in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals to put themselves in a position the franchise has never been in before. With a 3-2 series lead, the Sharks are now just one victory away from reaching their first Stanley Cup Final.

In three prior trips to the third round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, San Jose had never won more than two games. For the vast majority of the players on this roster, including longtime faces of the franchise Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau, playing in an elimination game with a trip to the Final on the line is going to be a new experience. And it was an absolute battle to get to this point.

The 6-3 scoreline suggests that this game was not even close, but that couldn't be further from the truth. The Sharks notched a pair of empty-net goals in the final minute to create the final separation, but they had to play from behind for a lot of the game.

Game 5 featured four lead changes in more of a seesaw battle through the first 40 minutes. However, the Sharks took control in the third period after getting the last lead they would need just 16 seconds into the final frame before finally creating some breathing room in the last minute.

The Blues played a strong game and even had some chances in the third period, but they just weren't able to generate offense consistently enough to take the Sharks out of it. Now they face elimination on the road in what should be a tense Game 6.

Here are some of the key takeaways from Monday's history-making win for the Sharks:

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The Sharks' stars came through once again in a franchise-history-making Game 5 win. USATSI

1. Joe Pavelski keeps scoring big goals: The San Jose captain has had a spectacular postseason performance. His two goals were in Game 5 were huge as his power-play marker in the second period tied the game and his tip-in goal 16 seconds into the third period put the Sharks ahead for good. Those two goals put Pavelski in sole possession of the postseason scoring lead with 12.

Pavelski is surrounded by a spectacular cast that includes the best setup man in the game today in Joe Thornton and he has made the most of it. Every top player for the Sharks has contributed in some way to the team's success, most of them with a lot of points, but this is the time of year where goal scoring is supposed to be difficult. Pavelski, however, is scoring at a rate that is even higher than his already impressive regular-season pace. His 12 goals in 17 postseason contests puts him on a 57-goal pace for an 82-game season.

Here's the eventual game-winner, scored as so many Pavelski goals are: a net-front tip.

2. Vladimir Tarasenko has been a non-factor in the conference finals: While one high-end goal scorer is taking it up a notch, another is struggling mightily in this series. Vladimir Tarasenko has no goals in the Western Conference finals after coming in with seven in 14 prior contests. This happens to the best of them, as my colleague Adam Gretz has noted this postseason.

That said, Tarasenko hasn't even been generating much by way of scoring chances. You can't just say he's been unlucky. The 24-year-old, who had 40 goals in the regular season, has generated just four shots on goal over his last three games, including only one Monday night. He has 12 over the five games of the series.

Everyone goes through dry spells and scoring is hard, but this looks like more than just a drought for Tarasenko. It looks like his confidence is waning at the worst possible time.

3. Marc-Edouard Vlasic had another great game: One of the undersold players on the Sharks is a guy who has an Olympic gold medal and was one of the first additions named to Canada's World Cup of Hockey roster. However, after a game where he scored a goal and added an assist, Marc-Edouard Vlasic did those noticeable things that get you more attention.

He notched the game's first goal early on a nice shot from the point through traffic, but he also played over 24 minutes and handles the Sharks' toughest defensive assignments. Vlasic has been doing that kind of thing all postseason though (except for scoring goals as he hadn't done that until Monday night).

While there is an idea so many have of shutdown defensemen as the plodding, physical, big-bodied players, Vlasic is one of the newer age shutdown guys. He plays great defense, moves the puck well, skates well and is just so smart. There's a reason the Sharks control the puck more when he's on the ice.

4. Ken Hitchcock has to think about his goaltending decision again: The Blues head coach made the call to go to Jake Allen for the first time this postseason before Game 4. It was a crucial game his team needed to have and they won it. He went back to Allen for Game 5 and the results were quite different. Meanwhile, Brian Elliot - the team's MVP throughout the playoffs before Game 4 - sat on the bench for two straight games. Maybe things would have been no different Monday, but now Hitchcock has to consider what to do next. Should he stick with Allen who has had one good start and one bad one? Or does he go back to the guy that has as much to do with the Blues getting to this point as anyone? He did not commit to anyone in net for Game 6, but it's the head coach's most crucial decision of the postseason.

5. The Blues made key mistakes leading to the game's deciding goals: The Blues had the lead and were controlling play a little bit when Tomas Hertl found a seam in the Blues' defense. Kevin Shattenkirk had to get a stick on him and ended up hooking Hertl. That late power play opened the door for the Sharks to tie things up and take a little wind out of the Blues' sails heading into the third period. That's exactly what they did.

The Blues got caught on their penalty kill with too many players funneled to the puck, leaving Joe Thornton wide open near the net and no one to cover Pavelski out front. Thornton cut like he was going for a shot before spotting Pavelski wide open in the high slot. Thornton dished it off and Pavelski had an open look as he deposited the puck into the top right corner. That goal came with just 1:27 to play in the period.

On the game-winning goal (seen above in No. 1), Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester had an errant pass that went for an icing off of the third period's opening faceoff. The Sharks won the ensuing faceoff and the puck never left the zone before Pavelski tipped in Brent Burns' shot for what would be the game-winner.

It was about as tough a way to start a period as you could ask. The icing didn't allow the Blues to change, so Sharks coach Peter DeBoer was able to get Pavelski, Thornton and Hertl out there with St. Louis' top checking unit on the bench. That was one costly icing.

6. The Blues' great challenge after losing Game 5: The loss is going to be hard enough for the Blues to take on its own. They know the situation they're in with one more loss ending their season and costing them their chance to break a franchise-spanning Stanley Cup drought. Now they have to win back-to-back games to reach the Cup Final. Taking two straight from the Sharks has been extremely difficult to do against the Sharks this postseason.

San Jose is 5-1 after losses this postseason following Monday night's win. That one loss came in triple overtime against the Nashville Predators, so even that win didn't come easy for their opponent.

Part of the reason the Sharks have bounced back so well is their veteran-laden lineup. Another is head coach Peter DeBoer, who has done a masterful job with the most talented team he's ever had the chance to coach. He's also led a team to the Stanley Cup Final before, having done so with the New Jersey Devils in 2012. The Sharks have always seemed to been able to make the adjustments and clean up their games after losses.

For St. Louis to grab two straight, it's going to take nothing short of their best two games of the postseason to date.

7. Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau closer to a Cup Final than they've ever been: The No. 1 and No. 2 picks from the 1997 NHL Entry Draft first joined forces in 2005-06 and have been chasing that Stanley Cup ever since. They've never been this close.

The last three years have been a whirlwind for the Sharks, but particularly so for their veteran stars. It looked like they might get broken up when GM Doug Wilson was rumored to be considering moving them after the Sharks' crushing first-round exit to the Los Angeles Kings in 2014. However, neither would waive their no-trade clauses and remained with the team through a tumultuous 2014-15 season. Then before this season, it was reported that Marleau had requested a trade out of town. Wilson was never able to find a trade partner, though.

Now they're a win away from reaching the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in their careers. Thornton is still as effective as he's ever been after averaging a point per game in the regular season and also the playoffs. Marleau's in a bit more of a diminished role, but he's still contributing with 10 points this postseason. They may never get this close again, so they'll have to make it count. Sometimes that fourth win to close out a series is the hardest to get.