That's a bad playoff combination for the St. Louis Blues and their three best players.

The San Jose Sharks have tied their first-round series with St. Louis at 1-1 by spitting in the face of the bully. Check that, the Blues aren't exactly bullies but they do have a bulls-eye painted on their backs as the NHL's top-seeded team.

The St. Louis-San Jose playoff series has arguably generated the most Stanley Cup news so far because of the sudden implications. The Blues are off their game, San Jose stole Game 2 Saturday in St. Louis and the whiff of a monumental upset is in the air.

San Jose, an afterthought coming into the playoffs, suddenly is a factor. Lacking the talent to compete with St. Louis, the Sharks have come out in the first two games trying to rattle the Blues with their bodies. So far it has worked.

"I'm sure they're going into it (desperate) because they barely got into the playoffs," Blues defenseman Jeff Finley said. "They've probably been in the playoff mode for the last month. They've got nothing to lose, we were the No. 1 team all year. They're heavy underdogs. I'm sure they can use that as a positive and come in a little bit looser."

Looser and more physical. The rough stuff has had a definitive impact on St. Louis' impact players. The Blues' big three are a combined minus-4 with just one goal. Last season the big three finished first (Turgeon), second (MacInnis) and fourth (Pronger) in playoff scoring.

"They (Sharks) compete hard," MacInnis said. "All of the stuff that is going on out there, that is just playoff hockey. It is not going to go away and you have to deal with it. We have not played our game the first two games. I do not know what the reason is, but we just have to start playing a little bit better. We have to get back to playing the hockey we have played all year."

Despite scoring the game winner in Game 1, Pronger obviously has been rattled by San Jose's policy of targeting St. Louis' best defender. He lost a tooth in Game 1 while being checked but also came back and swatted the game-winning goal out of mid-air.

Game 2 was a downer. Pronger did have an assist but was a minus-1 and did not have a shot on goal. In fact, he melted down with 38 seconds left after he was called for a penalty. Referee Stephen Walkom added an unsportsmanlike conduct and 10-minute misconduct after Pronger protested. MacInnis had to hold Pronger back with his stick to keep things from getting ugly.

In the first two games, Pronger has 18 penalty minutes and only two shots. He, along with the rest of the Blues, were upset with the penalty disparity Saturday -- nine San Jose power plays to five for the Blues -- but they have themselves partially to blame. San Jose has capitalized on its chances, while the Blues haven't.

"Sometimes you can get a little carried away and play with too much emotion," Blues winger Scott Young said. "It has to be controlled emotion. (Saturday) we might have gotten a little out of control. It showed up with a lot of penalties. I thought the game was pretty lopsided with all penalties, but still we have to play with a lot more discipline."

MacInnis might be playing some of his worst hockey of the season. He was victimized repeatedly Saturday and took a costly double minor that led to the Sharks' weird first-period goal. Defenseman Marc Bergevin accidentally threw the puck into his own net while MacInnis was in the penalty box. Call it lucky; it probably wouldn't have happened had not MacInnis drawn the double minor for high sticking.

Mike Ricci (left) and the Sharks bring a physical presence that is throwing the Blues off their game.(AP)

More amazing were MacInnis' eight missed shots in Game 2. He was set up time and again for open shots and simply missed the net. His final effort, with 1:03 left, missed and circled around the boards leading to Owen Nolan's empty-net clincher.

In two games, MacInnis has nine missed shots. That's a high total for MacInnis in a month, much less two games.

Meanwhile, Turgeon has reverted to his old form of disappearing in the playoffs. In the two games he has one assist, two shots and is a minus-2.

"We felt his (playoff) game intensified halfway in the Phoenix series last season," Blues coach Joel Quenneville said before Game 2. "He seemed to lift himself and the team since that day. You could see his added determination around the puck, evading checkers. He's making the second and third efforts. It's been there all year.

"I think he's a competitive person. He wants to be a big contributor to our team. We felt that with some added responsibilities he could handle it."

Turgeon scored a Game 7 winner in overtime against Phoenix last season and tied a career playoff high with 13 points. This year he missed significant time because of a thumb injury. He returned late in the season with eight points in his final six games but hasn't carried it over to the playoffs.

After Game 1, the Blues looked like they were going to be carried by their youngsters. Marty Reasoner, 23, already has two goals. Michal Handzus, also 23, is one of the best defensive forwards in the league. He has one assist and eight shots in the first two games.

It's obvious now they aren't going anywhere without a four-star effort from the big three.