Calgary won Game 1 despite playing to San Jose's strength. It hopes to play better tonight.
By Wire services
Published May 11, 2004
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Though Darryl Sutter enjoys full-tilt hockey as much as the next fan, the Calgary coach hopes the rest of the West final is much less exciting than the opener.
The Flames won 4-3 in overtime despite spending much of the game chasing the speedy Sharks, who got more than twice as many scoring chances as Calgary, according to San Jose coach Ron Wilson.
But thanks to goalie Miikka Kiprusoff, who made 49 saves, the Flames stole a victory in a game played at the Sharks' breakneck pace.
"Hopefully, we've learned we can't fight fire with gasoline," Sutter said Monday.
Wilson plans to change nothing for Game 2 tonight in San Jose. Except for occasional defensive lapses, San Jose's effort was tough to criticize.
So the coach emphasized the positives.
"Our whole goal is to maintain the tempo that we played at and to eliminate a couple of the mental mistakes that we made in being overly aggressive," Wilson said.
The sixth-seeded Flames have excelled against supposedly superior offensive clubs this postseason. Vancouver and Detroit enjoyed similar shot advantages. Calgary hung on, though Sutter believes holding off the Sharks will be the toughest task yet.
Still, the tempo made for thrilling hockey; particularly in the third period and overtime, when neither team retreated into the defensive shells that often typify postseason hockey.
Calgary took 13 of their 37 shots in the third period, and San Jose had 12 in overtime.
The Flames and the Sharks kept coming, with San Jose winning most of the small battles before defenseman Steve Montador sneaked in for the winner.
Montador called his relatives to celebrate his first postseason goal after the game but was back to business at practice.
"Had we not had Miikka in there in the first and second periods, with the kind of scoring chances they were getting, we wouldn't have won the game," Montador said.
"There are a few things we've got to shore up and correct, and we worked on that."
The Sharks worked on finishing their scoring chances and driving to the net relentlessly. Wilson wants more pressure on Kiprusoff to force the goalie to make more saves in succession.
The Sharks had few rushes with multiple chances to score. Those rushes were a hallmark of the Sharks this season, when their speed-based lineup surprised opponents with relentless forechecking and strong passing. The Flames prefer a slower, tactical approach to offense, but their young forwards were drawn to the Sharks' pace.
Wilson stayed true to his plan to avoid specific matchups against Flames captain Jarome Iginla. And the Sharks justified his confidence by holding the playoff scoring co-leader without a shot until midway through overtime.
But as goalie Evgeni Nabokov expected, the rest of Iginla's line picked up the slack. Craig Conroy scored two goals.
"The game at this level is a bunch of momentums," said Nabokov, who allowed more than three goals for just the second time in the postseason.
"If you score when you have that momentum, you're going to win.
"We had a lot of momentum, more than they did, but we couldn't always score. I don't know if it's working harder or smarter or just being in the right place at the right time.
"Their last goal, that was Darryl's type of hockey. They just worked hard and kept waiting for their opportunity."
Despite the tensions and pitfalls of a wide-open game, even the players appreciated its entertainment value.
Television ratings are expected to be minuscule for a series matching two teams with no international superstars or teams from major American hockey markets. But there's plenty to watch.
"Everyone is saying there's a lack of big stars in our series, but I think if people watch, they're going to be really entertained by some fast-paced hockey," Calgary defenseman Robyn Regehr said. "There's never a dull moment."
