SAN JOSE — Timo Meier collected the puck near the blue line. Then came the spellbinding stick work.
Right. Left. Right. Left. Right …
The Sharks’ 22-year-old, Swiss-born winger was 1-on-1 with St. Louis Blues rookie goaltender Jordan Bingington.
Then, with one final brush, Meier finished off his artistic masterpiece and sent a backhander under Bingington’s extended left leg. Officially, it stood as the winning goal as the Sharks easily took Game 1 of the Western Conference Final, 6-3.
Call it The Timo Meier Game.
The Sharks’ 2015 first-round draft pick produced two goals — the first multi-goal playoff game of his three-year career — and he assisted on the Sharks’ first goal, by Logan Couture, 3 1/2 minutes into the action.