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Sharks take Game 1 with OT
thriller
Dimitrakos punches home game
winner
4/8/04 - by Mike Lee
The
Stanley Cup Playoffs officially kicked off in the Bay Area on Thursday night
with a nail biting chess match between the Sharks and the visiting St Louis
Blues. When the smoke cleared, the Sharks walked away with a 1-0 overtime win,
courtesy of a Niko Dimitrakos goal midway through the first overtime period.
San Jose jumps out to an early 1-0 lead in the best of seven series, which
looks to be an important first step because of how evenly the two teams match
up. An early mistake by Dimitrakos limited his ice time early in the game, but
he more than made up for it with his late heroics.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
OT |
T |
| STL |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| SJ |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
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| Overtime - S.J, N.
DIMITRAKOS (1) (V. DAMPHOUSSE, S. HANNAN), 09:16 |
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| 1st period - STL,
M. BARON, 15:50 - Roughing S.J, J. CHEECHOO, 16:58 - Holding STL, D. WEIGHT,
18:34 - Holding stick |
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| 2nd period - S.J,
N. DIMITRAKOS, 09:50 - Hi stick S.J, N. DIMITRAKOS, 09:50 - Hi stick STL, D.
WEIGHT, 14:41 - Tripping S.J, M. RICCI, 17:35 - Holding stick |
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| 3rd period - S.J,
S. HANNAN, 06:06 - Interference STL, K. TKACHUK, 17:59 - Interference -
Obstruction |
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Shots |
Saves |
| STL - Osgood |
29 |
28 |
| SJ - Nabokov |
26 |
26 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
OT |
T |
| STL |
6 |
12 |
6 |
2 |
26 |
| SJ |
11 |
5 |
9 |
4 |
28 |
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Round one of this battle has the makings of a long
series between the two teams. San Jose opened the game with a high tempo
approach that had them controlling the puck for much of the 1st period. The
Sharks had several quality scoring chances early on, but Blues goaltender Chris
Osgood weathered the storm with a strong performance.
The Sharks came
within inches of taking a 1-0 lead just 40 seconds into the game after Osgood
stopped a blast in front of the right post, but the rebound trickled behind
him. Jonathan Cheechoo spotted the loose puck and tried stabbing at it as he
dove toward the Blues net, but he whiffed on the attempt at wound up in the net
himself.
San Jose out shot the Blues 11-6 in the opening frame, but
they couldn't solve Osgood.
Momentum shifted in the 2nd period, but
Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov topped Osgood's 1st period performance by
stopping all 12 shots he faced. Nabokov and his teammates held on a four
penalty penalty-kill after Dimitrakos cut Blues center Mike Danton with a high
stick midway through the period.
The Blues looked primed to convert
early in the 3rd period, but Nabokov made two key saves. First he shut the door
on a scoring chance by Eric Boguniecki, then he stoned Doug Weight who was
parked all alone on the Sharks doorstep. Nabokov tried cutting off Weight's
angle by skating at him and throwing out his pads with a kick save that kept
the game scoreless.
The two teams would combine for a perfect 9-for-9
on the penalty kill including a single 2rd period chance for each team. Keith
Tkachuk took a bad interference penalty with two minutes remaining in
regulation, but the Blues kept the Sharks at bay with a solid kill.
The evening almost turned sour for the Sharks when Tkachuk skated in two-on-one
early into the overtime period, but his shot from the left circle sailed wide
of the net.
Dimitrakos would end things minutes later on what could
have easily been a stoppage for the Blues. Vincent Damphousse sent a hand pass
skittering through the neutral zone, but Weight tried grabbing the loose puck
which nullified the stoppage. Scott Hannan chipped it into the Sharks zone
before Damphousse and tried to Blues defenseman Christian Backman tried
grabbing it along the right wing boards.
Dimitrakos grabbed the puck
and raced in on Osgood as Patrick Marleau skated toward the far post. Osgood
had to contend with the Dimitrakos as well as a potential pass to Marleau
across the slot. Dimitrakos made the right decision by snapping a shot over
Osgood's glove hand. His teammates mobbed him along the far boards as the arena
erupted with cheers.
Play of the
Game
It doesn't get much more exciting than a game tying goals
with 2.3 seconds remaining in regulation 17 seconds after you just scored to
pull your team to within a goal. Stuart's heroics make Jonathan Cheechoo's
rabbit out the hat goals in Dallas two weeks ago seem like a second rate
achievement in the thriller department. It makes you wonder if the Sharks are
on the verge of pulling off one of the biggest magic tricks in NHL history or
if they've used up all their magic this season.
The Turning
Point
There were several turning points in this game. Cheechoo's sure
goal that wasn't gives San Jose a 1-0 lead less than a minute into the game. He
muffs on the poke shot and the game ends up going to overtime 0-0. Weight's
near goal at the start of the 3rd period also changes the complexion of the
game if he converts. Finally Tkachuk's 2-on-1 in overtime may have cost the
Blues a chance at advancing. Whole different series if the Blues head back to
St Louis down 2-0.
Save of the
Game
Nabokov's play on Weight wasn't pretty, but it did keep the
puck out of the net. Given the fact that both teams were focused on defense,
scoring goals in this series will be far a few between. So when players are all
alone in front of the net with the puck, they must convert. Weight didn't and
the Blues are down 1-0 in the series.
Box Scores Do No
Justice
Keep an eye on Alyn McCauley to see if he even sees the ice in
Game 2. the Sharks forward went crashing in the end boards late in the 3rd
period and headed straight for the dressing room clutching a sagging right arm.
McCauley appeared to hit the boards with his right shoulder. He returned to the
ice in the overtime period, but his shoulder could be an issue later in the
series.
Honorable Mention
It
looked like a bad way to kickoff a playoff series but the Sharks have to be
thankful that injury was avoided when Vincent Damphousse tripped on one of the
teeth attached to the huge Sharks head the players skate through before the
opening faceoff. Damphousse went crashing to the ice, his helmet flying. The
smoke that streams out of the Shark head may have impaired Damhousse's vision,
causing the pre-game mishap.
Quotables
I couldn't have
dreamed this up any better. This is definitely the biggest thing I've ever done
in hockey. To score a goal in overtime is something that I dreamed about,
playing on the street." - Niko Dimitrakos
"I knew Patty was going to
the back post, and I knew (Osgood) knew it," Dimitrakos said. "I just thought I
had enough room over his shoulder, and I was right." - Dimitrakos
"You
definitely want the first game, and we had our chances. We couldn't find that
second or third effort to put it in. That was the difference. These are the
games we want to play: good technical, defensive hockey. We obviously want to
get the split." - Keith Tkachuk
"It's a different feeling, playing in
the playoffs. Everything seems a little different, but we have to keep
preparing and working the same way. Both teams were coming pretty hard tonight,
shooting everywhere. It wasn't like a (normal) 1-0 game." - Evgeni Nabokov
"I'm used to San Jose coming out and playing good, especially in their
building. I felt pretty good. My job was to keep us in the game. I tried to
cover as many as I could." - Chris Osgood
Milestones
The shutout was Nabokov's second in
the playoffs. His first came against the Blues in 2001.
The contest
was the first NHL playoff game for Jonathan Cheechoo, NIls Ekman and Tom
Preissing.
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