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Sharks take 2-0 lead vs
Colorado
Series moves to Denver after SJ wins both
at home
4/24/04 - by Mike Lee
The
Sharks did a wonderful job of flying under the radar this past regular season,
but they're blowing it big time in the playoffs. San Jose dominated the
Colorado Avalanche for the second consecutive game, taking a 2-0 advantage in
their best-of-seven conference semi-final series with a 4-1 win at HP Pavilion
on Saturday afternoon. The hockey world is sure to take notice after the Sharks
turned in another full-team press en route to their 6th victory in the
playoffs. Four Sharks scored goals, but the entire roster put a defensive clamp
on the high octane Colorado offense.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| COL |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| SJ |
0 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
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| 1st period - COL,
M. HEJDUK (4) (M. BARNABY, P. FORSBERG), 07:01 |
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| 2nd period - S.J,
V. DAMPHOUSSE (2) (P. MARLEAU, N. DIMITRAKOS), 11:14 S.J, P. MARLEAU (7) (N.
DIMITRAKOS, V. DAMPHOUSSE), 19:36 |
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| 3rd period - S.J,
J. CHEECHOO (2) (B. STUART), 06:27 S.J, W. PRIMEAU (1) (J. CHEECHOO, M. RICCI),
19:05 |
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| 1st period - S.J,
M. SMITH, 02:44 - Roughing S.J, M. SMITH, 02:44 - Roughing COL, O. VAANANEN,
04:48 - Interference COL, M. BARNABY, 09:50 - Hooking S.J, V. DAMPHOUSSE, 09:53
- Tripping COL, J. SAKIC, 15:43 - Hooking - Obstruction COL, P. FORSBERG, 19:52
- Roughing S.J, S. HANNAN, 19:52 - Roughing |
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| 2nd period - COL,
P. FORSBERG, 11:05 - Interference COL, P. FORSBERG, 15:02 - Interference -
Goaltender |
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| 3rd period - COL,
J. SAKIC, 05:15 - Boarding S.J, B. STUART, 12:07 - Interference COL, S.
KONOWALCHUK, 14:27 - Hi stick |
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Shots |
Saves |
| COL - Aebischer |
23 |
20 |
| COL - empty net |
1 |
0 |
| SJ - Nabokov |
21 |
20 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| COL |
5 |
9 |
7 |
21 |
| SJ |
10 |
7 |
7 |
24 |
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Vincent Damphousse, Patrick Marleau and Jonthan
Cheechoo each had a goal and an assist to lead San Jose. Evgeni Nabokov turned
aside 20 of 21 shots to earn his 4th consecutive victory of the post season
(6th overall).
Colorado vowed to turn up the intensity after the 5-2
shellacking they took in game 1, but the Sharks matched them early on. San Jose
got an early wake up call when Mathew Barnaby drew Sharks forward Mark Smith
into taking a bad 4-minute roughing penalty. The Sharks killed off the double
minor, but just having fallen victim to Barnaby's gamesmanship sent the message
that Colorado was willing to win at all costs, sportsmanlike or not.
The one lapse the Sharks did commit all afternoon would cost them and give the
Avalanche their first lead in the series on Colorado's first shot of the game.
San Jose got caught on a line change, allowing Peter Forsberg to spring a break
with Barnaby and Milan Hejduk.
Barnaby skated in on Nabokov
uncontested before sliding a pass over to Hejduk on the right post. Nabokov was
dead to rights without any defensive support and Hejduk buried the pass for a
1-0 Colorado lead just past the seven minute mark.
San Jose actually
out-shot Colorado 10-5 in the period, but the Avalanche would take the one goal
lead into the dressing room at the first intermission. Both teams would close
out the period with matching roughing penalties on Forsberg and Scott Hannan
after the two tangled in a face washing dance at 19:52.
The penalty
would be the first of three consecutive trips to the box for Forsberg, but it
wasn't the costliest. That distinction would be placed on an interference call
that he took midway through the 2nd period.
The Sharks would
capitalize on Forsberg's misdeed nine seconds later when Damphousse tapped in a
deflection after charging toward the net as Marleau threw a shot at Avalanche
netminder David Aebischer.
Forsberg would draw his third penalty on
what appeared to be a Colorado goal, but the Avalanche star forward was
whistled for plowing into Nabokov. Forsberg vehemently argued the call on the
way to the box, but referee Rob Shick would have none of it.
The play
was made even more painful when Marleau converted on his 7th goal of the
playoffs with just 24 seconds remaining in the period. Niko Dimitrakos setup
Marleau with his 6th assist this post season, allowing the San Jose to take the
2-1 lead into the second intermission.
San Jose would pad its lead
after Avalanche captain Joe Sakic was sent off for boarding early in the final
period. Cheechoo would convert on one of the craziest goals of the season, when
he lifted a shot past Aebischer after taking a cross-ice pass from between his
legs. Brad Stuart setup the goal by racing up the left wing boards, then
sending a laser to Cheechoo who was draped by two Colorado defenders.
Nabokov stymied Colorado for much of the 3rd period, but he stood on his head
during a Colorado power play with seven minutes to play. With Stuart in the box
serving an interference penalty, Colorado turned up the heat in an effort to
chip away at the Sharks lead. Sakic had the Sharks netminder flat on his back
with an open net, but Nabokov stoned the Colorado captain with an unreal save.
Wayne Primeau would ice the game with an empty-net goal after
Avalanche head coach Tony Granato was forced to pull Aebischer late in the
contest.
Play of the Game
Every
news outlet that covers sports across the US and Canada will have Cheechoo's
goal on their highlight reels Saturday night. The Sharks forward says he's
never practiced the shot before and that it was all "reaction". Given the tight
quarters and the angle that he had to work with, the shot was all the more
incredible. The on ice officials even phoned the video replay judge because
they couldn't believe the puck wasn't kicked in. The review took all of 10
seconds, after replays confirmed Cheechoo's slight of hand miracle.
The Turning Point
Marleau's goal was huge given the timing. Less than
a minute remaining in the 2nd period of a 1-1 game and that goal completely
changes the complexion of the contest. The goal had to affect Colorado
mentally, because Marleau slipped behind the Avalanche defense almost
undetected while Dimitrakos was touring the Colorado zone with the
puck.
Save of the
Game
Cheechoo's goal wasn't the only play that seemed to defy
physics on Saturday. Nabokov's save on Sakic in the 3rd period left the
Avalanche captain dumbfounded. The puck appeared to lodge itself in Nabokov's
jersey up around the top of the right sleeve. Could another goaltender
equipment change be on the horizon now that Nabokov has figured out a way to
leverage jersey slack to stop pucks?
Box Scores Do No
Justice
Aebischer apparently missed his anger management therapy between
games 1 and 2, and Scott Thornton was the beneficiary. Thornton, who returned
to the Sharks lineup on Saturday, took several shots from Aebischer's blocker
after he was hauled into the Colorado goal in the 3rd period. Aebischer didn't
take kindly to Thornton setting up camp in the Colorado goal, so he took it
upon himself to motivate an early departure by taking a couple of extra cheap
shots at Thornton. Aebischer hacked Niko Dimitrakos in the back of the knee
with his stick in Game 1 after the Sharks forward bowled over the Avalanche
netminder.
Honorable Mention
One
of the most noticeable differences in the two teams thus far has been team
speed on the ice. San Jose seems to be out skating Colorado to every loose
puck, and dictating play in Colorado's zone. Sharks head coach Ron Wilson
commented that he's seeing guys that he never thought were fast flying on the
ice.
Quotables
"I think most hockey people know about us.
Maybe we don't get all the attention that some teams do, but we're just focused
on our goals." - Patrick Marleau
"I don't think I've ever even
practiced that. I was just running out of options. Their sticks were in the
way, in the way, in the way, and I had to try something." - Jonathan Cheechoo
"We have to win Game 3. We have no choice. We get a little sloppy when
things don't go our way, and we have to turn that around. They have the jump on
us. We're getting outworked. They're playing with a lot more intensity than we
are." - Joe Sakic
"Sometimes you get the calls, but I'm not happy with
the way we're playing. We need to take care of things on our home ice. We
definitely need to play better. They have outplayed us." - Peter Forsberg
Milestones
Alex Tanguay
returned to Colorado's lineup after missing the series opener with a knee
injury. Former Sharks sniper Teemu Selanne was scratched to make room for
Tanguay.
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