Calgary takes 2-0 series lead with 4-1 nod over San Jose
SAN JOSE – In the topsy-turvy world of the National Hockey League, opportunities to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals do not come along very often to even the most deserving of clubs.
The San Jose Sharks have the rest of the week to stave off elimination from Stanley Cup play. The Calgary Flames put the Sharks in a 2-0 hole Tuesday by zipping past the hosts 4-1 at sold-out HP Pavilion.
The winner of the best 4-of-7 series moves on to the Stanley Cup Finals, with the loser left to ponder both its missed opportunity and to weigh the chances of making it back to the final four again.
Calgary will host the next two games of the series, Thursday night and Sunday afternoon. The Sharks need at least one victory on the road to force a Game Five Monday night at HP Pavilion.
The hometown fans were quieted just 20 seconds into action when Flame center Marcus Nilson ripped a shot from the right point that ricocheted off defenseman Scott Hannan, banged off defenseman Jason Marshall’s leg and past goalie Evgeni Nabokov for the 1-0 lead.
“It ping-ponged its way in – just one of those things,” said Sharks coach Ron Wilson.
“It took us right out of the game. They took it to us for the rest of the first period. We didn’t compete. We were looking for hits, got out of our style of play.”
For the second consecutive game, Calgary built a 2-0 lead in the first period. Calgary speedster Sean Donovan broke free from the red line and completed the 1-on-1 battle with Nabokov by pulling a backhander past the goalie at 10:35 of the period.
“I didn’t know what I was thinking,” Donovan said of the breakaway move. “It just went blank.
“I’m just excited to be in the conference finals and a one in four chance to win the Cup.”
“When he uses his speed and sticks his nose in there he can be an outstanding player,” coach Darryl Sutter said of Donovan.
“I know from being on the other side of it that (getting behind early at home) is hard,” added Sutter. “We were a lot better in our zone tonight. Our two centers, (Stephane) Yelle and Nilson, were great in our zone. (Defenseman Robyn) Regehr was unbelievable.”
San Jose battled back to 2-1 on Alyn McCauley’s one-timer off a Nils Ekman feed to the left-wing circle 5:26 into the second period. The Sharks “had some great opportunities to tie” in the second period, according to Wilson, but Calgary “managed to counter attack twice” to add two goals in the third period.
Calgary took a 3-1 advantage in the third period when Ville Nieminen scored an unassisted goal from 20 feet out using Hannan as a screen. Moments later, captain Jarome Iginla found the cage off a Martin Gelinas pass for the 4-1 final.
“What we’re trying to do is relish the fact we’re in the final four and play our hearts out,” summed up Sutter about the Calgary performance.
“We weren’t in sync,” said Wilson. “We weren’t supporting the puck. One of our strengths is speed of puck movement and we didn’t do that tonight. We didn’t execute, period. We just over-handled the puck. Once that starts the forwards go to different spots and the whole thing breaks down.
“The main thing is, it is still possible to win the series. We lost two straight to Colorado and came back with our best game. We’ve dug a heck of a hole for ourselves, but it’s not impossible to get out. This is where we find out who are the leaders in our team.”
