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Nabokov gem evens series
up Penalty parade sinks Flames 4/10/08 - by
Mike Lee
The hockey gods have to be wondering why that Warren
Strelow guy is smiling so much. Strelow, the former Sharks goaltending coach
who passed away last year, had two of his disciples dual each other in Game 2
of the Sharks Western Conference Quarter Final showdown with the Calgary Flames
on Thursday night at HP Pavilion. That dual turned into a goaltending clinic as
Evgeni Nabokov and Miikka Kiprusoff combined for 62 saves, but Nabokov would
deny the Flames from scoring en route to his sixth career playoff shutout in
the 2-0 victory.
The win allowed the Sharks to even the series at 1-1,
but more importantly it allows them to head into hostile territory on Sunday
without having to dig themselves out of a 2-0 hole. Nabokov put them in that
position with several high light reel saves, including a circus stop on an Owen
Nolan shot in the 3rd period.
Kiprusoff was equally impressive,
turning aside 41 shots aside, many of which came via a seemingly endless power
play in the 2nd period. The Sharks set a franchise playoff record with 27 shots
on goal in that period, but Kiprusoff kept the Flames within striking distance.
Both goaltenders were tested early and often. Cory Sarich missed on a
golden opportunity when Nabokov robbed him with a glove save at the 6 minute
mark of the opening period, by lunging to his left to snag the waist high
one-timer.
"We knew it was going to be tough. We could sense that it
was going to be an even tougher game than the first game," said Nabokov. That's
exactly what it was. 1st period they came out hard and the 2nd period we
totally controlled the game because they took a lot of penalties. In the 3rd
period we started taking penalties."
Joe Pavelski missed on a point
blank chance at the 15 minute mark. Calgary turned over the puck deep in their
own zone and the Sharks forward found himself staring down Kiprusoff with a
wide open lane from 20 feet out.
Nabokov stopped all 10 shots in that
opening period, but the biggest save came at the conclusion of the opening 20
minutes. Alex Tanguay and Jerome Iginla teamed up on a 2-on-1 break and put a
shot on Nabokov right as the period was expiring. If not for some solid
positioning by Nabokov, the Flames would have held a lead at the 1st
intermission.
In a clear sign that the Sharks would lean on the
physical aspects of the game, San Jose out hit the Flames 16-11 through the
first 20 minutes of play.
Pavelski would break the ice with his first
career playoff goal at 4:56 of the 2nd period. Marc-Edouard Vlasic bounced the
puck off the end-boards, which then kicked out to the bottom of the left
circle. Pavelski scooped up the rebound and pivoted 180 degrees before firing a
shot that slipped between Kiprusoff's pads.
"You don't want to play
catch up in a series," added Pavelski. Whether you're down a game or you're
down a goal. They went up two goals the other night and we tried to climb back.
We got up two goals and did the same thing to them.
The Sharks smelled blood after Kiprusoff was whistled
for holding Joe Thornton's stick. A spirited sequence resulted in a wild scrum
in front of the Calgary net, but Kiprusoff stood tall. What should have been
great motivation for Calgary, was wasted by a parade of players to the penalty
box, including Kristian Huselius, Stephane Yelle and Jim Vandermeer who drew
penalties within the same minute.
Misfiring on the subsequent 5-on-3
prompted Sharks head coach Ron Wilson to call a timeout with 35 seconds
remaining in Yelle's minor. The Flames would kill off the 2-man advantage, but
Torrey Mitchell would convert with just under 2 minutes left in the period.
Milan Michalek's persistence ended with the puck skittering across the rease
from right to left, where Mitchell chipped a shot into a wide open net.
"We know every series is going to be physical," said Pavelski. "They
have some big D out there that are going to hit a little bit. We're as big as
anyone and we can play that game too. If a team wants to play that, we've got
some guys with grit. We're ready for whatever they're going to throw at
us."
Craig Rivet and Mitchell gave Calgary a pair of power plays to
start the 3rd period, but the Sharks penalty kill was up to the task, stifling
the Flames at the blueline. Pavelski missed on a short-handed breakaway chance
before Mitchell's penalty would expire. Mat Carle would follow with a hooking
penalty 3 minutes later, and this time Mike Grier had a breakaway chance, but
the puck kicked out far and Kiprusoff skated 40-feet out and cleared it to
safety.
With their own power play faltering, the Flames started to
press offensively. That's when Nabokov made the save of the night. With 5
minutes left to play in regulation, Nolan took a pass in the slot and had a
wide open net to shoot at, but the Sharks goaltender dove to his left and
snatched the would be goal out of thin air.
"You're always thinking
that when you're getting a run of power plays like that, the pendulum is going
to swing the other way, which it kind of did for a brief period in the 3rd
period for a brief bit," said Wilson. "Our penalties did a great job denying
them entry into the zone. We probably had as many scoring chances on the PK as
they did on the power play."
Marleau would get a chance to put the
Sharks up by 3 goals on a breakaway chance with 4:39 to play, but a slash by
Adrian Aucoin would disrupt the scoring chance. As soon as Aucoin exited the
box, Sarich would take a cross checking penalty with 2:31 to play to put the
Sharks back on the power play, snuffing out any chance for the Flames to mount
a comeback.
Game Notes:
Devin Setoguchi was a scratch
for the 2nd consecutive game, even though Wilson hinted that the Sharks rookie
would probably see some ice time after the Sharks 3-2 loss in Game 1. Matt
Carle made his first appearance in the series, replacing Alexei Semanov on the
blueline.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
CGY |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
SJ |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
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2nd period - 1, SJ,
Pavelski 1 (Vlasic, Marleau), 4:56. 2, SJ, Mitchell 1 (Michalek, Rivet),
18:09. |
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1st period - Conroy,
CGY, (hooking), 6:20; Marleau, SJ (slashing), 6:55, (pp). |
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2nd period - Moss, CGY
(roughing), 3:03; Brown, SJ (roughing), 3:03. Kiprusogg, CGY (holding the
stick), 6:07. Iginla, CGY (holding), 8:37; Hale, CGY (cross checking), 11:23;
Huselius, CGY (hooking), 14:17; Yelle, CGY (cross checking), 15:09; Vandermeer,
CGY (slashing), 15:33; Rivet, SJ (interference), 20:00. |
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3rd period - Mitchell,
SJ (interference), 4:22; Carle, SJ (hooking), 7:55; Lombardi, CGY (hooking),
9:41; Aucoin, CGY (slashing), 15:21; Nystrom, CGY (roughing), 16:49; Cheechoo,
SJ (roughing), 16:49; Sarich, CGY (cross checking), 17:29. |
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Shots |
Saves |
CGY - Kiprusoff |
43 |
41 |
SJ - Nabokov |
21 |
21 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
CGY |
10 |
3 |
8 |
21 |
SJ |
8 |
27 |
8 |
43 |
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Referees:
Joannette, Peel. Linesmen: Rody, Sharrers. |
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