Pierre Turgeon and the Blues go on a shooting spree and Evgeni Nabokov can't do anything to stop them. (AP)

"It was just a totally different game," Young said. "They came out running around a bit because they were overly excited, and it opened up a lot of the ice for us. We were able to get a couple of goals, and we held on."

Pierre Turgeon had a power-play goal and two assists for the Blues, who rebounded from their scoreless performance in Game 2 with two periods of relentlessly aggressive hockey. It couldn't be matched by the Sharks, who gained plenty of adrenaline but no composure from their deafening home crowd.

Scott Mellanby, Jochen Hecht and Cory Stillman also scored as St. Louis torched rookie goalie Evgeni Nabokov, who shut out the Blues two days earlier but showed his playoff inexperience in a shaky performance.

The rest of the Sharks also shouldered blame as the Blues outskated, outchecked and generally outworked San Jose. St. Louis scored the first three goals and had a 5-2 lead after two periods.

"They came out early and got that 3-0 lead, and we were out of it quick," said Tony Granato, who scored the Sharks' last goal. "They got us back on our heels right away. We weren't able to respond until it was too late."

The series began with two defense-oriented games: a 3-1 win for St. Louis in Game 1 and San Jose's 1-0 victory Saturday. But the tone dramatically changed in the first period. With four churning lines controlling play, St. Louis scored two goals in the first 4:16 and added another 9½ minutes later, putting the Sharks on their heels.

Young, who scored six goals in St. Louis' seven-game loss to the Sharks in last season's playoffs, set up scores for Mellanby, Drake and Turgeon with his relentless forechecking and clever passing.

"That's the difference in the game tonight: bangers, pluggers and grinders like (Young and Mellanby)," San Jose coach Darryl Sutter said.

Scott Thornton, whose breakaway goal was the only score in Game 2, got his second goal for the Sharks in an outstanding performance. Vincent Damphousse had a short-handed goal.

"There's no excuse. I don't know what the answers are," Thornton said. "We went over everything. We were prepared."

The Sharks took 38 shots against Roman Turek, but they had few quality scoring chances. Turek, whose play took much of the blame for the Blues' first-round playoff exit last season, was strong during two San Jose power plays in the third period.

Before the third, Nabokov was replaced by fellow rookie Miikka Kiprusoff, who didn't face a shot. The Blues' only third-period shot came on Drake's empty-net goal. With Game 4 scheduled for Tuesday night, the Sharks must hope Nabokov rebounds in time to prevent St. Louis from claiming a two-game lead.

"He just wasn't on top of his game. He didn't bounce back," Sutter said of Nabokov.

Both teams' big late-season acquisitions didn't make the scoresheet. Teemu Selanne generated a few San Jose scoring chances and Keith Tkachuk played a strong two-way game, but neither star could get free from defenses keyed on stopping them. Selanne has just one shot in three games.

The Blues' first goal came on a power play after an opening-minute hooking call on Marcus Ragnarsson. Turgeon found Young with a cross-ice pass, and Mellanby deflected Young's shot -- though not intentionally -- past Nabokov just 2:31 in.

"I'm just glad I got hit in the shoulder, not the face," Mellanby said.

The second goal came two minutes later at the end of a long cycle in which the Sharks were always a step slow. Pavol Demitra, alone behind San Jose's net, passed out to Hecht, who beat Nabokov with an expertly placed slap shot and silenced the Sharks' fans.

Notes

• San Jose again played without D Gary Suter, who got a head injury in the opening minutes of Game 1. The Sharks are mum on his condition.
• NHL commissioner Gary Bettman attended the game.
• Before the game, San Jose recalled eight players from its Kentucky affiliate, which has been eliminated from the AHL playoffs. The players include C Jim Montgomery, who played large portions of the season in San Jose, and highly touted G Vesa Toskala.
• Granato's goal was his first since Jan. 1.