Flames 2 Sharks 0: Inside the Game

Flames force Game 7 with shutout

Sunday, 20.04.2008 / 7:40 PM / News
By Torie Peterson
INSIDE THE GAME

CALGARY 2 SAN JOSE 0
GAME AT A GLANCE
CALGARY—  Miikka Kiprusoff made 21 saves and recorded his 6th career playoff shutout in the Calgary Flames 2-0 victory over the San Jose Sharks in Game 6.

The win forces Game 7 which will be held in San Jose on Tuesday night.

Calgary Flames' Daymond Langkow, right, celebrates his goal with teammate Jarome Iginla during the second period of Game 6 NHL hockey playoff action against the San Jose Sharks in Calgary, Sunday, April 20, 2008. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press,Jeff McIntosh)

Owen Nolan got the ice breaker in the first period and the C of Red erupted. After the Flames had sustained pressure in the offensive zone for several minutes, Nolan's line came on and kept up the intensity. Kristian Huselius deked around several Sharks and backhanded the puck towards the net. The shot bounced off of a few players before landing right on Nolan's stick. His second goal of the postseason came at 11:33, with assists going to Huselius and Robyn Regehr.

The Sharks took the only penalty of the first frame. Eric Nystrom got behind the defense and was on his way to the net when Patrick Rissmiller hauled him down. It intially looked like Nystrom would receive a penalty shot but the referee signalled otherwise. The crowd wasn't wasn't pleased with the decision but the Flames did get their first power play of the night at 16:37.
 
The Flames outshot the Sharks 11-5 in the intial 20 minutes.

Calgary took two penalties in the second period, with Huselius going to the sin bin for tripping at 2:38 and Alex Tanguay getting called for hooking at 12:05. The Sharks weren't able to muster much offense with the man advantage though, only garnering three shots while on the power play.

Daymond Langkow gave the Flames a two goal lead late in the second with a wrist shot that beat Evgeni Nabokov under his right leg when the goaltender kicked out his pad. Calgary's second goal of the night came at 19:03, with Alex Tanguay and Jarome Iginla getting the helpers.

Another early penalty to the Flames gave San Jose a chance to get themselves on the board. David Moss took a hooking call at 2:03 and while the Sharks power play looked much better than in the second period,  Kiprusoff stood tall.
 
The Sharks kept on coming and pulled Nabokov with 1:16 left in game for an extra attacker. The move didn't work out for San Jose and the Flames forced Game 7 with their 2-0 win.
THE BIG SAVE: David Moss took a hooking penalty early in the third period and the Sharks were hungry for their first goal of the night. With a lot of traffic in front of the net, Craig Rivet blasted a shot from the blueline. Miikka Kiprusoff made a quick left pad save and gobbled up the rebound to ensure no hovering Sharks could bat the puck in the net.
THE BIG HIT: David Hale had a big shift early in the second period. With the Flames forechecking, Hale first sent a hard shot at the net and then leveled Patrick Rissmiller. The hit sent the Sharks forward to the ice and drew loud applause from the C of Red. Later in the game, he slammed Mike Grier into the boards in the defensive zone, knocking him to the ice.
THE TURNING POINT: Daymond Langkow's second period marker gave the Flames a two goal cushion to work with and they didn't let the lead go. Langkow's wrist shot fooled Evgeni Nabokov and slid underneath his right pad as he tried to kick the puck out. The Flames , who gave up a lead just like this in Game 4, continued to work just as hard throughout the remainder of the game to keep the Sharks at bay.

THE ROSTER: The Flames scratches were D Rhett Warrener (ankle), D John Negrin, F Dustin Boyd, F David Van Der Gulik, F Eric Godard, F Marcus Nilson, F a Grant Stevenson, F Brandon Prust, F Mark Smith (head) and G Curtis McElhinney.

WORTH NOTING: Jim Vandermeer was moved from defense to forward. He was -5 as defenseman this series ... David Hale's supporters were featured in the Calgary Herald They were dubbed by writer Jean Lefebvre as a the Hale Storm Troopers from their nickname for the defenseman, The Hale Storm. Last home game, they yelled "hail!" during the American national anthem and in Game 6, the "hail!" was significantly louder.
BY THE NUMBERS: In the Flames first power play late in the first period, Dion Phaneuf played all but five seconds of the two minute minor ... Curtis Joseph has the best goals against average in the playoffs. His Game 3 victory earned him a 0.00 GAA ... Alex Tanguay, Jarome Iginla and Daymond Langkow kept their point streaks alive. Tanguay and Iginla both assisted on Langkow's third goal of the playoffs. All of them have had points in the last three games ... Miikka Kiprusoff now has six career playoff shutouts.
UP NEXT: The Flames head back to San Jose for Game 7 at the HP Pavilion, broadcast on CBC and The FAN 960 at 8:00 p.m. MT.