The San Jose Sharks were thoroughly outplayed by the St. Louis Blues in Sunday night's Game 5 loss, at the Shark Tank, 5-0.

After heading into Game 4 in St. Louis, up 2-1 in the series at the time, the Sharks now find themselves on the brink of elimination. Now, San Jose is no stranger to having their backs up against a wall, facing elimination, and needing to string victories together to clinch a playoff series. Against the Vegas Golden Knights, in the first round of the postseason, the Sharks trailed the series 3-1. Taking it one game at a time, the team scratched and clawed their way to a 4-3 series victory, following a three-game winning streak.

Back to Sunday night's contest... it was no contest. The Blues goalie, Jordan Binnington, was outstanding again, saving all 21 of the shots on-goal he faced. Binnington is handling himself rather well for a rookie thrust into the midst of a deep playoff run and tough postseason battle. Offensively, the Blues got things started at the 5:50 mark in the first period, when Oskar Sundqvist knocked one past Sharks goalie Martin Jones. After failing to score a goal, San Jose headed to the second period down 1-0.

In the second, St. Louis' Jaden Schwartz tallied the first goal in what would eventually multiply into a hat trick. Vladimir Tarasenko added to the lead with an unassisted goal at the 6:53 mark. Again, the Sharks were shut-out in the second, which already landed them in a huge hole heading into the game's final period. Especially considering they were facing a hot goalie in the Blues' Jordan Binnington.

Schwartz and Binnington owned the final period. Not only did Schwartz notch his hat trick with two more goals in the third, but Binnington also contributed with four saves in the period. The Sharks had better be ready and work to avoid coming out as flat as they were on Sunday night. Being down 3-2 in a seven-game series isn't the end of the world. It does not spell certain death. However, the margin for error is razor thin, and San Jose needs to win two consecutive games, including Game 6 in St. Louis, on Wednesday 21st.