St. Louis Blues center Robby Fabbri celebrates with right wing Troy Brouwer (36) and defenseman Colton Parayko (55) after scoring a goal during the second period in Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Western Conference finals against the San Jose Sharks, Monday, May 23, 2016, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
St. Louis Blues center Robby Fabbri celebrates with right wing Troy Brouwer (36) and defenseman Colton Parayko (55) after scoring a goal during the second period in Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Western Conference finals against the San Jose Sharks, Monday, May 23, 2016, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson) Credit: Jeff Roberson

St. Louis — Joe Pavelski scored two goals, including the go-ahead score in the opening minute of the third period, and the San Jose Sharks beat the St. Louis Blues 6-3 to take a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference final on Monday night.

Joel Ward also scored twice including one of two empty-netters in the final minute for San Jose, which can close it out at home on Wednesday night. The Sharks have never reached the Stanley Cup Final. Joe Thornton had three assists for the Sharks.

Pavelski leads the playoffs with 12 goals and has three two-goal games, one in each series. The Sharks’ captain added an assist and is tied with teammate Logan Couture for the postseason points lead, each with a franchise-record 21 points.

Rookie Robby Fabbri scored and David Backes had an assist for St. Louis. Both were questionable coming off injuries in Game 4.

Ex-Leafs CoachJohn Brophy Dies

Toronto — John Brophy, who coached the Toronto Maple Leafs for 2½ seasons before coaching in the ECHL for 13 seasons, has died. He was 83.

The ECHL said Brophy, who was from Nova Scotia, died Monday morning after a lengthy illness.

Brophy, an assistant, became head coach of the Maple Leafs for the 1986-87 season, leading Toronto into the second round of the playoffs. He was fired 33 games into the 1988-89 season after the Leafs got off to an 11-20-2 start.

Brophy became coach of the ECHL’s Hampton Roads Admirals for the 1989-90 season. He led the Admirals to three league titles over 11 seasons.

After a season away from coaching, he returned with the Wheeling Nailers, leading the team for two seasons before retiring after 2002-03.

Brophy was inducted into the ECHL Hall of Fame in 2009.

As a player, he was best known for his rough style. Brophy, who racked up nearly 4,000 career penalty minutes in the minor leagues from 1955-73, is believed to be the role model for Paul Newman’s character Reggie Dunlop in Slap Shot. Brophy was once dubbed the “Godfather of Goonery.”

Having never played in the NHL, Brophy and his Long Island Ducks often wreaked havoc throughout the minors. As a player and coach, he was suspended or fined more than a half-dozen times for physical and verbal abuse of referees.