Sharks cancel Kings in finale, prepare for Blues
SAN JOSE – The San Jose Sharks used the final moments of the last game of the regular season to put a stirring exclamation point on a 104-point showing with a 4-3 overtime shocker over the Los Angeles Kings at sold-out HP Pavilion.
San Jose, already locked in the second seed in the Western Conference and a date with the visiting St. Louis Blues in the first two games of the best 4-of-7 opening Stanley Cup series this week, trailed 3-1 entering the last minute of the third period. Coach Ron Wilson pulled goalie Evgeni Nabokov for the final 1:18 of the period after KIngs’ winger Luc Robitaille was penalized for holding.
San Jose’s Alyn McCauley won an offensive zone face-off with 25 seconds left. Nils Ekman poked the puck to Brad Stuart in the high slot, the defenseman responding with a wicked slapshot that fooled Kings’ netminder Roman Cechmanek to make it 3-2 with 19.7 seconds left.
Wilson went with the same six-man unit for the face-off, with the Sharks quickly gaining the zone before Vincent Damphousse was able to control the puck along the right boards. Damphousse drilled a pass toward the top of the crease that a charging Stuart re-directed into the cage with 2.3 seconds left.
The momentum continued for the hosts in the extra session. Damphousse recorded his 12th goal of the campaign with a wrister from the slot inside the left goalpost 3:10 into the stanza.
San Jose opened the game’s scoring 5:24 into the first period when Alexander Korolyuk tipped home a pass from the point by Ekman on a Sharks power play. The Kings drew even at the 10:36 mark when defenseman Nathan Dempsey one-timed a feed from Esa Pirnes past Nabokov.
The teams battled through a scoreless second period. Los Angeles took a 2-1 lead 5:52 into the third period when defenseman Jaroslav Modry rocketed a shot off Nabokov and into the net from the left-wing circle. John Tripp added his first goal of the season and second in his career at 13:22 for the 3-1 cushion.
“It was certainly exciting,” said Wilson of the team’s 43rd victory. “I was not pleased to be down 3-1. We were going for the win, and we exposed ourselves a few times. The story here is not to give up. We found a way to bounce back.
“We’re third overall in the league, which is a nice feather in your cap. If the top two teams in the league get knocked off, home ice is in our hands.”
The Sharks will take one day off, then begin practice for the third meeting in Stanley Cup play between the organizations. San Jose knocked of the Blues in 2000 in the first round, then lost to the Blues in 2001 in the first round.
“We have a lot of respect for them,” said San Jose’s coach. “They’ve been hot for a month. We’re going to have our hands full. For some of our guys it’s going to be a new experience: the pressure of the playoffs.”
