Nongoal in '04 final still stings for Flames
Three years since Game 6 of the 2004 Stanley Cup final and the (maybe) goal that wasn't is still a sore point with some of the Flames.
By DAMIAN CRISTODERO
Published March 11, 2007
CALGARY - Three years since Game 6 of the 2004 Stanley Cup final and the maybe goal that wasn't is still a sore point with some of the Flames.
You remember ... a puck deflected off Martin Gelinas' skate with seven minutes left in the third period of a 2-2 game, a leg save by Nikolai Khabibulin, the ruling the puck did not cross the goal line, no review and Tampa Bay's 3-2 double-overtime victory that prevented Calgary from clinching its first Cup since 1989 and set up the Lightning's Game 7 win.
"It probably was in," Flames captain Jarome Iginla said before Saturday's game at the Pengrowth Saddledome. "But that's the way it is. We had our chance to win later in the game. We had Game 7. We wish it would have gone differently, but it didn't."
"It's hard to forget," defenseman Robyn Regehr said. "The puck looked like it was in. Sometimes it pops into my mind with the scenario of, 'What if?' "
But defenseman Rhett Warrener said, "If we go down that road, there are too many things. Sure we wish we had gotten the call, but we still had another game to play and even the rest of (Game 6). It wasn't the deciding factor."
RANGER MRI: Defenseman Paul Ranger had an MRI exam on his left knee at a Calgary clinic. Trainer Tommy Mulligan said the test confirmed a partial tear of the medial collateral ligament. No surgery is required, and Ranger is expected to be out four to six weeks.
PARTNERS: Dan O'Brien took Ranger's place next to Dan Boyle, a pairing of players who like to rush the puck.
"That's where you have to be smart," Boyle said. "It's a learning process. You can't be going at the same time."
MISUNDERSTOOD: Rangers forward Ryan Hollweg, assaulted with a stick by the Islanders' Chris Simon, has a reputation among players for hitting from behind. In February, he threw what he said was an accidental knee-to-knee hit on the Lightning's Blair Jones.
But Tampa Bay forward Jason Ward, who played with Hollweg in New York, said Hollweg is not such a bad guy: "I have a lot of respect for him. He works hard every night. That's his job, to finish checks. He's one of those guys you'd love to have on your team."
ODDS AND ENDS: The Lightning had its annual dinner Thursday for which the rookies picked up the tab. ... Defenseman Filip Kuba returned to the lineup after one game as a healthy scratch.
Damian Cristodero can be reached at cristodero@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8622.