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Flames steal Game
1
Montador's OT goal ruins strong
performance
5/9/04 - by Mike Lee
The
Western Conference Finals kicked off in spectacular fashion on Sunday
afternoon, but the Sharks would like a mulligan on an overtime line change that
would cost them Game 1. Steve Montador, a seldom used defenseman, snapped home
the winning goal for Calgary 1:17 remaining in the first overtime to give the
Flames a 1-0 lead in the series. San Jose left goaltender Evgeni Nabokov out to
dry after failing to convert on 12 shots in the overtime against former backup
Miikka Kiprusoff, allowing Montador to skate in untouched and rip a point blank
shot from the slot.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
OT |
T |
| CGY |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
| SJ |
0 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
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| 1st period - CGY,
K. OLIWA (2) (O. SAPRYKIN, C. KOBASEW), 09:26 CGY, C. CONROY (3) (S. DONOVAN),
19:29 |
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| 2nd period - S.J,
M. RICCI (2) (S. THORNTON, J. CHEECHOO), 01:23 S.J, T. HARVEY (1) (W. PRIMEAU,
S. HANNAN), 19:02 |
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| 3rd period - CGY,
C. CONROY (4) (R. WARRENER, J. LEOPOLD), 09:25 S.J, A. KOROLYUK (3) (M. RATHJE,
A. MCCAULEY), 16:39 |
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| 1st Overtime -
CGY, S. MONTADOR (1) (J. IGINLA, S. DONOVAN), 18:43 |
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| 1st period - S.J,
S. THORNTON, 04:17 - Interference - Goaltender CGY, S. YELLE, 05:58 - Hi stick
CGY, C. SIMON, 16:17 - Elbowing CGY, C. CLARK, 16:17 - Slashing CGY, C. SIMON,
18:34 - Roughing S.J, K. MCLAREN, 18:34 - Roughing |
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| 2nd period - CGY,
M. NILSON, 20:00 - Charging |
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| 3rd period - CGY,
C. CONROY (4) (R. WARRENER, J. LEOPOLD), 09:25 S.J, A. KOROLYUK (3) (M. RATHJE,
A. MCCAULEY), 16:39 |
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Shots |
Saves |
| CGY - Kiprusoff |
52 |
49 |
| SJ - Nabokov |
37 |
33 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
OT |
T |
| CGY |
11 |
8 |
13 |
5 |
37 |
| SJ |
18 |
15 |
7 |
12 |
52 |
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The Sharks now find themselves in uncharted waters,
trailing in a series for the first time this post season. The position seems
even more unlikely given the fact that San Jose outplayed Calgary for much of
the game. Kiprusoff stole the victory by making 49 saves, including several
during a two minute 5-on-3 penalty kill late in the 1st period.
The
Sharks shot themselves in the foot by not converting on several opportunities,
but none was bigger than a sequence in overtime when Nils Ekman had Kiprusoff
dead to rights. The Sharks forward whiffed on a shot from four feet out, after
Kiprusoff fell to the ice trying to defend a previous shot.
Missed
chances was the theme of the afternoon for San Jose and it would catch up to
them in overtime. What has to be frustrating for the Sharks is not capitalizing
after overcoming two Calgary leads.
The Flames jumped out to a 2-0
lead in the 1st period when Krzystof Oliwa and Craig Conroy converted for
Calgary. Oliwa poked home a rebound after the Flames converged on Nabokov in a
wild flurry in front of the Sharks net. Conroy would score with 31 seconds
remaining in the period to stun the sellout crowd.
Mike Ricci would
end Kiprusoff's shutout streak 1:23 into the 2nd period, when he swatted home a
rebound that bounced off Kiprusoff's mask. Scott Thorton, who returned to
action after sitting out five of the Sharks last seven games with a leg injury,
ripped a shot from the left circle that banged off Kiprusoff's mask then shot
straight up in the air. Ricci was crashing the net and easily deposited the
puck into Calgary's net.
Todd Harvey would tie the game with just
under a minute remaining in the period when he deflected a Wayne Primeau shot
past Kiprusoff. Harvey was cutting across the slot from left to right and got a
stick on the puck after Primeau fired it in from the top of the right circle.
Conroy would strike again on what appeared to be a harmless shot from
the point, but Nabokov was screened on the play and never saw it.
The
Sharks would take advantage of a screen themselves with 3:21 left in
regulation. Alexander Korolyuk threw the puck on net from just inside the right
wing boards, just as Ekman was cutting in front of Kiprusoff. The puck floated
over Kiprusoff's left shoulder and into the Flames net.
San Jose
turned up the heat as the period came to a close and would carry that momentum
into the extra frame. The Sharks would pepper Kiprusoff, would they couldn't
crack him.
Quotables
"It's fun to be here against the
Sharks, but I don't think it makes any difference. It's the finals. That's
enough." - Miikka Kiprusoff
"I think the crowd was going, and I wanted
to make sure that Jarome could hear me. I just said, 'Thanks for listening.' "
- Steve Montador
"We've been able to steal games while they're all over
us. Kipper gave us a chance. We have a whole different kind of confidence with
him back there." - Craig Conroy
"We've got more where that came from.
It's disappointing to lose the game the way we did, on kind of a detail thing,
a bad change. ... With 52 shots, I think we could have had 62 shots. We'll play
the same way the next game, take our chances." - Sharks head coach Ron
Wilson
"The bottom line is, I would bet it's easier to win the first
game in this building than it would be Game 7. - Flames head coach Darryl
Sutter
"I thought we carried the play most of the night. Kipper kept
them in the game. ... We had a couple of mistakes, turnovers at the blue line.
That's what those guys take advantage of." - Scott Hannan
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