Much like the Sharks did in their 2-0 shutout victory in Game Two of the series, the Flames controlled nearly every facet of the game, evening the series at three games apiece.
“You have to give Calgary some credit and for some reason we were flat,” Head Coach Ron Wilson said in his postgame press conference. “We got beat in every possible category. Our faceoffs: you don’t have any offense if you don’t win your faceoffs in the offensive zone. We only had 14 hits. We never went to the difficult areas in front of their net to either get a rebound or make Kipper’s (Flames netminder Miikka Kiprusoff) life difficult.”
While Wilson acknowledged that his team was good at various points throughout the game, that was little consolation to the coach who needs his team to elevate their play in Game Seven.
“We didn’t have a sense of urgency that we need,” said Wilson. “We just didn’t get to pucks first and we let them dictate the pace of play. We had our moments in the second period and early in the third period. Kipper made some saves, but we didn’t have enough people hanging around the front of the net to pay the price to score. They’ve scored a lot of ugly goals in this series; we’ve got to find a way to manufacture a few for ourselves.”
Sharks winger Ryane Clowe agreed with the sentiments of his coach and noted that in addition to the Flames playing with a heightened state of urgency and desperation, San Jose failed to do the things that made them successful in their three victories this series.
“I thought we kind of shut ourselves down,” said Clowe, who was kept off the scoresheet for the first time this postseason. “We didn’t do things to create scoring chances. When we got power plays we moved the puck around pretty well and got some chances, but five-on-five in the playoffs, people need to do more to create chances and get to the net.”
The Sharks survived the opening push by the hometown team that was energized by a raucous crowd and despite being out shot and out chanced in the opening five minutes, they were able to settle down the frenzied pace.
Things would change shortly thereafter however as former Shark Owen Nolan opened the scoring with 8:27 to play in the opening frame. What looked to be a busted play turned sour for the Sharks when a well-defended pass by Kristian Huselius deflected off of Douglas Murray’s stick, off of Christian Ehrhoff’s skate and right onto the stick of Nolan who slammed the puck past Evgeni Nabokov for the 1-0 lead.
Early success seemed to fan the Flames as they emerged as the more desperate, more urgent team.
“Sometimes unfortunately that happens when you have a team that’s up against the wall,” said playoff veteran Mike Grier. “They came out and just played with that extra bit of intensity and desperation not to have their season ended. It was a mistake on our part tonight not to go out there and put the pressure right back on them and try and get a lead and force them into mistakes, but they played a pretty solid game tonight.”
Even after an opening period that saw the Flames control the game in nearly every key category, the Sharks entered the second only down a goal and with plenty of time to shift the momentum back in their favor.
After drawing consecutive penalties first on Huselius for tripping Patrick Rissmiller, then on Alex Tanguay for hooking Joe Thornton, the Sharks looked poised to strike on the power play as they had in the each of the previous four games. Clowe earned scoring chances on each of the power play opportunities in the second, but without traffic in front of the net , Kiprusoff was able to see every shot and kept the Sharks scoreless.
“We had some pretty good opportunities,” said Captain Patrick Marleau. “Our power play’s been working it around really nice, but we didn’t get the results. We have to try and get those results and bury our chances that we get.”
VETERANS AND YOUNGSTERS ALIKE, READY FOR GAME SEVEN
While the Sharks had every intention of ending the series in Calgary with a victory in Game Six, players and coaches alike have no problem playing a decisive Game Seven on home ice in San Jose.
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| Sharks rookie cetner Torrey Mitchell will be one of the many Sharks playing in his first Game Seven. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jeff McIntosh) |
“We wanted to finish them off (here
in Calgary),” said
Joe Thornton. “That was the plan, but they played well and it’s
been a great series. You play hard for 82 games to get that home ice
in the seventh game, so hopefully that will count for us. It’s going
to be a lot of fun in Game Seven.”
For several players on the Sharks roster, Tuesday night’s game at HP
Pavilion will be their first Game Seven in the Stanley Cup Playoffs
and they will certainly look to the veteran leadership that players
like
Curtis Brown and Grier can provide.
“I’ll certainly be here to answer any questions they might have,”
said Grier. “It’s a fun situation. Most kids growing up always dream
about being in a Game Seven and having a chance to make an impact
and score a big goal or make a big play that helps your team
advance. Should be a fun game and everyone should be looking forward
to it. You don’t get them that often, so it’s a special game.”
For
Joe Pavelski, this will be his first Game Seven, but the young
center is no stranger to playing in big games. In 2006 as a member
of the University of Wisconsin Badgers Men’s Ice Hockey Team,
Pavelski claimed the NCAA National Championship and in the Frozen
Four tournament, every game is Game Seven.
“I had a Game Five in juniors (best-of-five format) and in college
it was win or you’re done, so I’m pretty excited,” said Pavelski.
“The atmosphere is going to be great. We’ve got a team in here
that’s gritty. We fought tonight, but we didn’t get the job done.”
Marleau was succinct in his analysis of Game Seven.
“Winner moves on and loser goes home,” said the Captain. “We have to
come out with some desperation, a little intensity and be ready to
play because our backs are up against the wall too.”
“Hopefully we can do (in Game Seven) what they did (in Game Six),”
said Grier. “They fed off the crowd tonight at times when we started
to bounce back and get a little momentum, They took the energy from
the crowd and got it going again. I’m sure our building will be loud
and our fans will be into it and hopefully we can take some of that
energy from them.”
ALL EYES ON SAN JOSE
With three of the Western Conference’s four series already wrapped
up, all eyes in the highly competitive conference will be on San
Jose on Tuesday night.
The No. 1-seed Detroit Red Wings advanced past the No. 8-seed
Nashville Predators in Sunday’s Game Six, but for now they will have
to wait and see who they will be hosting.
The No. 5-seed Dallas Stars upset the No. 4-seed and defending
Stanley Cup Champion Anaheim Ducks in Sunday’s Game Six, but will
have to wait to see if they will host Game One of the Western
Conference Semifinals or start the series on the road.
The No. 6-seed Colorado Avalanche upset the No. 3-seed Minnesota
Wild in Saturday night’s Game Six and will now wait to see where
they are headed.
While the logistics of the NHL’s reseeded playoff structure may seem
complicated, the breakdown is fairly simple: if the No. 2-seed
Sharks win on Tuesday night, they will host the Stars in the WCSF
series and the Red Wings will host the Avalanche. If the Sharks are
eliminated on Tuesday night, the Red Wings will host the No. 7-seed
Flames and the Stars will host the Avalanche.
ROENICK RESTS FOR GAME SEVEN
When asked about
Jeremy Roenick’s absence from his Game Six lineup, Wilson’s
replied:
“We’re at the point now where he needed a rest. We’ve been playing
at a frenetic pace and I need J.R. fresh. And he’ll be in there. I
talked with him about it (before the game). ‘Whether it’s Game One
of the next series or Game Seven of this series, I want you fresh so
you can contribute.’
“He has three shots on goal, no points and is a minus-2, so I have
to find a way to get J.R. freshened up and tonight was the night.
Patrick Rissmiller and Brownie went in and for whatever reason,
it wasn’t their fault, we have to get better in all areas of our
game.”