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Damphousse banks
winner
Sharks blow 2-0 lead then win in on last
second goal
3/25/04 - by Mike Lee
Vincent Damphousse helped the Sharks overcome a 3rd period disaster at
HP Pavilion on Thursday night by scoring the go-ahead goal with 23.2 seconds
remaining in regulation against former teammate Miikka Kiprusoff and the
Calgary Flames. Damphousse added to the drama by scoring the goal from behind
the Flames net with a trick shot off Kiprusoff's leg. Calgary had overcome a
2-0 Sharks lead with a pair of goals in the final period and looked poised to
steal a tie, before Damphousse's late heroics. The 3-2 win also vaulted San
Jose into sole possession of the 2nd seed in the Western Conference, because
the Colorado Avalanche lost on Thursday.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| CGY |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
| SJ |
0 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
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| 2nd period - S.J,
N. EKMAN (19) (A. KOROLYUK, A. MCCAULEY), 16:04 S.J, M. RICCI (6) (M. RATHJE,
J. CHEECHOO), 17:04 |
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| 3rd period - CGY,
M. GELINAS (15) (C. CLARK, M. LOMBARDI), 13:44 CGY, O. SAPRYKIN (11) (J.
LEOPOLD, J. IGINLA), 15:59 S.J, V. DAMPHOUSSE (9) (B. STUART, J. CHEECHOO),
19:36 |
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| 2nd period - CGY,
M. LOMBARDI, 05:39 - Delay of game S.J, N. DIMITRAKOS, 17:26 - Hi stick |
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| 3rd period - S.J,
C. BROWN, 01:36 - Hooking S.J, J. MARSHALL, 05:20 - Hi stick S.J, B. STUART,
15:16 - Holding CGY, C. CONROY, 17:36 - Boarding |
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Shots |
Saves |
| CGY - Kiprusoff |
27 |
24 |
| SJ - Nabokov |
30 |
28 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| CGY |
9 |
7 |
14 |
30 |
| SJ |
5 |
10 |
12 |
27 |
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Damphousse pulled a rabbit out of his hat with the shot
that leaves San Jose with three points of it franchise record of 96 points with
five games to play. Their 96 points this season also moves them two points
ahead of the Avalanche and three points ahead of the Dallas Stars.
The
Flames comeback may have served the Sharks well, teaching them that no lead is
safe this time of year. That fact will become magnified once the playoffs
start. Another good lesson for a young team that has learned on the fly this
season.
The Sharks were cruising in the 3rd period when Martin Gelinas
and Oleg Saprykin struck for Calgary over a two minute span . Gelinas scored
with just over six minutes remaining in regulation when he redirected a Chris
Clark pass from the top of the crease past Evgeni Nabokov.
Saprykin
would follow up with a power play goal after Nabokov got caught out of the net
and the Flames got a break on a bounce. Saprykin took a Jordan Leopold pass
that was wrapping around the end boards and stuffed it into the open net. The
Flames had the luxury of the man advantage after Sharks defenseman Brad Stuart
took a bad holding penalty while the Sharks were clinging to a one goal lead.
Kirprusoff, the former Sharks netminder who was traded to Calgary
earlier this season, leads the league in goals against average and shut his old
team out for the first 35 minutes of the game. The Sharks would get to their
former teammate with a pair of goals a minute apart late in the 2nd period.
Nils Ekman became the fourth 20-goal scorer for the Sharks this season
when he deposited a nice pass from Alexander Korolyuk to open the game's
scoring. Korolyuk took a kick pass from Alyn McCauley along the left wing
boards, before spinning and firing a pass across the slot to Ekman who
one-timed the pass into the Calgary net.
Mike Ricci would stake the
Sharks to a 2-0 lead 60 seconds later when he redirected a Mke Rathje blast
through Kiprusoff's pads. The Flames netminder appeared to squeeze the puck,
but it trickled out and wobbled over the goal line.
Play of the Game
The only thing that would have
made Damphousse's goal more dramatic was if it had come during the playoffs, so
the practice should serve the Sharks well. This team may just be starting to
believe that it can manufacture goals during crunch time, and the game winner
against Calgary was a perfect example. Damphousse was also extremely patient on
the play, holding the puck until the right moment before throwing it at
Kiprusoff, rather than rushing the shot. Patience is a must in the playoffs.
The Turning Point
Stuart's penalty late in the game may have
been the Sharks biggest gaff of the night. It was a blatant take-down that came
at a crucial moment in the game, and would prove to be costly after Saprykin
scored to tie the game.
Save of the
Game
Nabokov frustrated the Flames on a sequence in the 3rd
period when Calgary threw three or four shots on net in rapid succession as a
scrum formed in front of the net. The Sharks netminder held his position and
knocked down each attempt until a forward came back to help clear the puck.
Box Scores Do No Justice
Jonathan Cheechoo didn't score any
goals but he helped setup two, tallying assists on Ricci's goal and
Damphousse's game winner. The assists leave him one shy of a 20 assist season
to go on top of his 27 goals this year.
Honorable Mention
So much for two defensive
minded teams, at least in the 3rd period. Both teams combined for 26 shots on
goal in the 3rd
Quotables
"If you get the puck quick, you can
beat the goalie to the post. We wanted two points. One point wasn't good
enough. We know Dallas has got more wins than us. We wanted to pass another
team, and we did it. Now we're looking ahead again." - Vincent Damphousse
"I know Vinny. That's goalie interference. That's the referee's job.
... We knew we'd have our hands full because of the way they played in the
first period. It's frustrating, because I thought we played really well." -
Flames head coach Darryl Sutter
"I was out to save the first shot, and
I think (Damphousse) missed the net or something. I just tried to jump on the
first post, and at the same time he was shooting it, and it hit my leg and it
went in. It was an awful way to finish this game." - Miikka Kiprusoff
"A win like this is one of the signs we're doing something right. It makes a
huge difference to be on a successful team. I'm so glad at the way everything
has gone so far this season." - Nils Ekman
Milestones
Mike Rathje's assist moved him into
1st on the Sharks franchise list for career scoring by a defenseman.
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