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Sharks get back in the series
with 3-0 win
Korolyuk stirs the pot with 2 goals and
an assist
5/13/04 - by Mike Lee
With
all the subplots that were published about the Sharks match up with the Calgary
Flames in the Western Conference Finals, most of the media elected to pass on
the Alexander Korolyuk - Darryl Sutter saga. Korolyuk decided to kick some dirt
Sutter's way on Thursday night with a three point performance and a victory
over Sutter's Flames 3-0 at the Pengrowth Saddledome. The win helps the Sharks
climb back into the best of seven series and also helped restore San Jose
confidence heading into Game 4 on Sunday.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
| CGY |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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| 2nd period - S.J,
V. DAMPHOUSSE (6) (A. KOROLYUK, R. DAVISON), 07:31 |
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| 3rd period - S.J,
A. KOROLYUK (4) (W. PRIMEAU), 18:10 S.J, A. KOROLYUK (5) , 19:16 |
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| 1st period - S.J,
A. MCCAULEY, 10:45 - Hi stick CGY, S. YELLE, 16:31 - Interference CGY, C.
SIMON, 19:50 - Holding |
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| 2nd period - S.J,
V. DAMPHOUSSE, 09:01 - Elbowing S.J, B. STUART, 14:30 - Tripping |
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| 3rd period - CGY,
C. SIMON, 06:16 - Roughing S.J, S. THORNTON, 06:16 - Roughing S.J, S. THORNTON,
16:53 - Roughing CGY, C. CLARK, 16:53 - Roughing CGY, V. NIEMINEN, 18:52 -
Cross check S.J, M. RATHJE, 19:16 - Fighting (maj) CGY, C. SIMON, 19:16 -
Roughing CGY, C. SIMON, 19:16 - Instigator CGY, C. SIMON, 19:16 - Fighting
(maj) CGY, C. SIMON, 19:16 - Misconduct (10 min) CGY, J. IGINLA, 19:16 -
Unsportsmanlike conduct CGY, J. IGINLA, 19:16 - Misconduct (10 min) CGY, J.
IGINLA, 19:16 - Game misconduct |
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Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Nabokov |
34 |
34 |
| CGY - Kiprusoff |
23 |
21 |
| CGY - empty net |
1 |
0 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
8 |
7 |
9 |
24 |
| CGY |
10 |
10 |
14 |
34 |
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Sutter, you may recall, didn't care too much for
Korolyuk's style of play last year. So the Sharks former coach sent Korolyuk
back to his native Russia. After Sutter's dismissal last season, Sharks GM Doug
Wilson brought Korolyuk back to San Jose in a move to help bolster's San Jose's
scoring.
Sharks head coach Ron Wilson also made a move of his own
prior to Thursday night's showdown by elevating Korolyuk to the first line, and
benching Nils Ekman. Ekman, the Sharks second leading scorer in the regular
season, has only two assists in the playoffs thus far, and has been a perimeter
player in all three series. Wilson's move paid big time dividends for the
Sharks.
Korolyuk setup the Sharks first goal and scored their final
two. His last goal would draw the ire of the Flames, resulting in a scrum after
the tally. Calgary players felt that Korolyuk was show boating on the empty-net
tally, when he hit the brakes in front of an open net before depositing the
puck.
Korolyuk contends that he was trying to be unselfish and pass
the puck to Patrick Marleau, who was cutting in along side him. Three Flames
converged on Korolyuk in the corner after the goal, and a mugging broke out
between Flames goon Chris Simon and Sharks defenseman Mike Rathje. Rathje tried
to lock up Simon after pulling him off Korolyuk, but Simon decided to take
things a step further by throwing several punches.
Things were much
less intense in the 1st period, when both teams exchanged a handful of shots
but no real scoring opportunities.
San Jose would break the deadlock
7:31 into the 2nd period when Korolyuk carried the puck into the Flames zone,
then stopped near the right dot. Vincent Damphousse was bringing up the rear
and took a pass from Korolyuk in the slot before carving his way toward the
Flames net. Damphousse backhanded the shot past a partially screened Miikka
Kiprusoff, giving the Sharks their first lead in the series.
Sharks
netminder Evgeni Nabokov took over from there, stopping all 34 shots that he
faced, including 14 in the 3rd period. The Flames tried turning up the heat on
the Sharks after Damphousse's tally, but Nabokov answered the bell with several
key saves in both the 2nd and 3rd periods.
Korolyuk would score his
4th goal of the playoffs with just under two minutes remaining in regulation
while both teams skated 4-on-4. Korolyuk slipped past the Flames defense at the
Sharks blueline and took a lead pass from Wayne Primeau up ice. The Russian
winger deeked Kiprusoff with a move to the left, before cutting right and
lifting the puck top shelf.
Flames winger Ville Nieminen would
compound the Flames woes with a cross-checking penalty with just over a minute
remaining. Nieminen didn't make any friends on the Sna Jose bench when he
speared defenseman Rob Davison earlier in the game, then landed two shots to
Jonthan Cheechoo's back with his stick. The blows to Cheechoo would land him in
the penalty box, essentially erasing any chance Calgary had to mount a
comeback.
Korolyuk would bag the empty-netter 24 seconds later.
Calgary fans littered the ice as the fracas broke out with Simon and Rathje.
Play of the Game
Korolyuk's
undressing of Kiprusoff was one of the prettiest goals scored by a San Jose
player all season. Kirpusoff has been super human in the post season, but he
looked like a mere mortal on that play.
The Turning
Point
The multi-goal game was nice, but Nabokov's play early in the 3rd
period as Calgary tried mounting an attack was the key to San Jose's win. The
Sharks defense did a good job of clogging up the middle, but the Flames were
still able to get off several quality shots in the period. On one sequence
Martin Gelinas ripped a shot from just outside the left post, but Nabokov
calmly snuffed it out with his right skate.
Save of the Game
Nabokov may have saved the game
with a series of stops that came in rapid succession with just over five
minutes remaining to play. Steve Montador, Gelinas and Shean Donovan all had
quality scoring chances turned aside.
Box Scores Do No
Justice
Sharks defenseman Kyle McLaren returned to the lineup after
missing Game 2 with an undisclosed injury. The injury didn't prevent McLaren
from pulling his weight during the game. The hard hitting defenseman logged
22:56 of ice time, second only to Scott Hannan.
Honorable Mention
Ekman's replacement was rookie
forward Marcel Goc, who had his playoff scoring streak snapped at two games.
Goc assisted on the series clinching goal in Round 1 against the St Louis
Blues, and scored the game winning goal in the Sharks Round 2 clinching win
over Colorado. Goc did unveil a new weapon to his arsenal, winning 5 of 6 six
faceoffs.
Quotables
" It was a big win. It went very well." -
Alexander Korolyuk
"It's fun to grow a dislike for that team, and I'm
sure they're growing one for us." - Jerome Iginla
"I don't think
there's any reason for that to be in our sport. You can have 59½ minutes
of great hockey, then you get a black eye at the end, literally. That's what
Mike Rathje has right now, but that's also a black eye for the game." - Sharks
head coach Ron Wilson
"We played more of a patient game. They've been
doing a pretty good job for the whole three games. They were shooting the puck,
and they were rushing the net. But today, we didn't have that many rushes
against us, and that's why we were controlling the play in the defensive zone."
- Evgeni Nabokov
Milestones
Simon racked up 23 minutes in
penalties for his on ice antics.
Korolyuk's first goal was the first
power play goal scored in the series.
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