Flames try to clinch Cup on home ice
The Sports Network
6/5/2004
The Calgary Flames are one win away from completing perhaps the most improbable Stanley Cup run ever, with a chance to clinch the championship in front of their rabid fans and all of Canada ready to celebrate.
Now, the Flames just need to overcome the little problem of their play on home ice in these playoffs.
With an opportunity to end the night skating with the Cup around the Pengrowth Saddledome, the Flames look to close out the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6.
Oleg Saprykin scored his first goal in 18 games off a rebound of Jarome Iginla's shot 14:40 into overtime Thursday night, giving the Flames a 3-2 victory in Game 5 to move to the brink of the club's second Stanley Cup and first since 1989.
Calgary won a Game 5 for the fourth time in these playoffs, all on the road, and improved its road record to 10-3 in this postseason.
"We're all excited, it's one win away, but we know how desperate they are going to be," said Iginla, who was arguably the best player on the ice Thursday. "We plan on being pretty desperate, too, seeing that we're 60 minutes away to all of our dreams."
Iginla is the only big name on this small-market team, which had missed the playoffs the previous seven years and entered this postseason as the Western Conference's sixth seed.
Only one team in 33 years has blown a 3-2 finals lead, the 2001 New Jersey Devils against the Colorado Avalanche. Calgary, a longshot just to make the playoffs, is trying to become Canada's first Cup winner since Montreal in 1993.
To do that, however, the Flames must find a way to play better at home. They are 5-6 at the Saddledome in this postseason, and may have to battle to keep their emotions in check and stay disciplined as they are urged on by a raucous crowd that will be anticipating a championship celebration.
"We know what our role in this is and we're going to fight through it, do everything we can," said Flames coach Darryl Sutter, who appeared to inspire his team by alleging Wednesday that NHL higher-ups don't want Calgary to win the Cup.
Sutter and his club know they have a tough task on their hands in eliminating the Lightning, whose remarkable ability to bounce back throughout the postseason should leave the Flames no doubt that Tampa Bay isn't going to roll over in Game 6.
Lightning goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin is 6-0 in these playoffs following a loss, including a 1-0 win in Game 4, and the Lightning have alternated wins and losses for a playoff-record 12 consecutive games. If that trend holds, Game 7 will be in Tampa on Monday night, although the team winning Game 5 of a Stanley Cup final tied 2-2 has gone on to win the championship 14 of 18 times.
"We talked after the game that we're not dead yet," Tampa Bay captain Dave Andreychuk said. "We have won in that building before. That's what we're focused on right now, just trying to get that Game 6."
The Lightning have a chance to do that if they can duplicate Thursday's effort. Although Tampa Bay was outshot 36-28, it played solid defensively in the third period and overtime, forcing the extra session on Fredrik Modin's power-play goal early in the third.
Tampa Bay put together a very physical effort and pounded away at Calgary's defensemen throughout the game, and the strategy appeared to be paying off as the Flames blueliners seemed to wear down later in the game.
The Lightning, however, couldn't do enough to slow down Iginla, whose power and speed couldn't be contained. He scored his playoff-leading 13th goal late in the second period to give the Flames a 2-1 lead, and he set up the winning goal by putting a shot on net at the end of a long, hard-working shift, allowing Saprykin to put home the rebound.
"I didn't know where the puck was, (Marcus) Nilson kept it alive and made a great pass to me. He was going to shoot but he saw me," said Iginla, Calgary's captain. "Oleg was banging away in there right in front and he deserved the goal."
Calgary played a steady and focused game, taking only two penalties. The Flames perfectly employed their style of "controlled chaos," which emphasizes tough and aggressive play without landing in the penalty box, and they will get some help on the chaos front in Game 6.
Forward Ville Nieminen, suspended for Game 5, will return to the lineup Saturday. He was banned for one game by the NHL on Wednesday because of his check from behind that drove Lightning star Vincent Lecavalier into the boards and glass late in the Flames' Game 4 loss. It was that suspension that infuriated Sutter and prompted his accusations of favoritism toward Tampa Bay within the league office.
Nieminen, Calgary's most irritating player, was assessed a major penalty and ejected, and the short-handed Flames were then unable to put much pressure on Khabibulin as they tried to get the game tied.
While the Lightning also are likely to continue their physical play, their calm approach has been a constant throughout this postseason run, and they're unlikely to change that game plan much after a strong effort left them confident they can still capture the Cup.
So confident, in fact, that Tampa Bay coach John Tortorella left no doubt when he was asked if the Lightning would be home Monday for Game 7.
"Yes we will," Tortorella said.
Cheers,
Aquaman
The Sports Network
6/5/2004
The Calgary Flames are one win away from completing perhaps the most improbable Stanley Cup run ever, with a chance to clinch the championship in front of their rabid fans and all of Canada ready to celebrate.
Now, the Flames just need to overcome the little problem of their play on home ice in these playoffs.
With an opportunity to end the night skating with the Cup around the Pengrowth Saddledome, the Flames look to close out the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6.
Oleg Saprykin scored his first goal in 18 games off a rebound of Jarome Iginla's shot 14:40 into overtime Thursday night, giving the Flames a 3-2 victory in Game 5 to move to the brink of the club's second Stanley Cup and first since 1989.
Calgary won a Game 5 for the fourth time in these playoffs, all on the road, and improved its road record to 10-3 in this postseason.
"We're all excited, it's one win away, but we know how desperate they are going to be," said Iginla, who was arguably the best player on the ice Thursday. "We plan on being pretty desperate, too, seeing that we're 60 minutes away to all of our dreams."
Iginla is the only big name on this small-market team, which had missed the playoffs the previous seven years and entered this postseason as the Western Conference's sixth seed.
Only one team in 33 years has blown a 3-2 finals lead, the 2001 New Jersey Devils against the Colorado Avalanche. Calgary, a longshot just to make the playoffs, is trying to become Canada's first Cup winner since Montreal in 1993.
To do that, however, the Flames must find a way to play better at home. They are 5-6 at the Saddledome in this postseason, and may have to battle to keep their emotions in check and stay disciplined as they are urged on by a raucous crowd that will be anticipating a championship celebration.
"We know what our role in this is and we're going to fight through it, do everything we can," said Flames coach Darryl Sutter, who appeared to inspire his team by alleging Wednesday that NHL higher-ups don't want Calgary to win the Cup.
Sutter and his club know they have a tough task on their hands in eliminating the Lightning, whose remarkable ability to bounce back throughout the postseason should leave the Flames no doubt that Tampa Bay isn't going to roll over in Game 6.
Lightning goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin is 6-0 in these playoffs following a loss, including a 1-0 win in Game 4, and the Lightning have alternated wins and losses for a playoff-record 12 consecutive games. If that trend holds, Game 7 will be in Tampa on Monday night, although the team winning Game 5 of a Stanley Cup final tied 2-2 has gone on to win the championship 14 of 18 times.
"We talked after the game that we're not dead yet," Tampa Bay captain Dave Andreychuk said. "We have won in that building before. That's what we're focused on right now, just trying to get that Game 6."
The Lightning have a chance to do that if they can duplicate Thursday's effort. Although Tampa Bay was outshot 36-28, it played solid defensively in the third period and overtime, forcing the extra session on Fredrik Modin's power-play goal early in the third.
Tampa Bay put together a very physical effort and pounded away at Calgary's defensemen throughout the game, and the strategy appeared to be paying off as the Flames blueliners seemed to wear down later in the game.
The Lightning, however, couldn't do enough to slow down Iginla, whose power and speed couldn't be contained. He scored his playoff-leading 13th goal late in the second period to give the Flames a 2-1 lead, and he set up the winning goal by putting a shot on net at the end of a long, hard-working shift, allowing Saprykin to put home the rebound.
"I didn't know where the puck was, (Marcus) Nilson kept it alive and made a great pass to me. He was going to shoot but he saw me," said Iginla, Calgary's captain. "Oleg was banging away in there right in front and he deserved the goal."
Calgary played a steady and focused game, taking only two penalties. The Flames perfectly employed their style of "controlled chaos," which emphasizes tough and aggressive play without landing in the penalty box, and they will get some help on the chaos front in Game 6.
Forward Ville Nieminen, suspended for Game 5, will return to the lineup Saturday. He was banned for one game by the NHL on Wednesday because of his check from behind that drove Lightning star Vincent Lecavalier into the boards and glass late in the Flames' Game 4 loss. It was that suspension that infuriated Sutter and prompted his accusations of favoritism toward Tampa Bay within the league office.
Nieminen, Calgary's most irritating player, was assessed a major penalty and ejected, and the short-handed Flames were then unable to put much pressure on Khabibulin as they tried to get the game tied.
While the Lightning also are likely to continue their physical play, their calm approach has been a constant throughout this postseason run, and they're unlikely to change that game plan much after a strong effort left them confident they can still capture the Cup.
So confident, in fact, that Tampa Bay coach John Tortorella left no doubt when he was asked if the Lightning would be home Monday for Game 7.
"Yes we will," Tortorella said.
Cheers,
Aquaman
Flames can scratch 11-year Canadian itch
Canadian Press
6/5/2004
It seems only a Patrick Roy wink of the eye since the last time a Canadian-based team won the Stanley Cup.
In fact, it has been 11 years since the Montreal Canadiens won their 24th - and perhaps most unexpected - Cup in 1993 behind 10 consecutive overtime wins and Roy's heroics in goal.
Like this year's Calgary Flames, the Canadiens went into the playoffs with low expectations, but battled to the final on goaltending and some inspired play from an under-rated group of skaters.
Legends were formed that spring, none moreso than that of Marty McSorley's illegal stick that may have cost Wayne Gretzky's Los Angeles Kings the Cup.
It was the year Roy and his goaltending guru Francois Allaire brought the butterfly style to prominence and the Canadiens popularized a system of defensive hockey that came to be called the neutral zone trap.
But there was also a dash of luck, as the gates to the final swung open when Pittsburgh, the winners in 1991 and 1992, were knocked out in the first round by New Jersey and the top western clubs beat each other up in long series.
It was the Stanley Cup's 100th anniversary and it was as though The Fates had decided the NHL's oldest, most successful club would win.
The Canadiens' stars were Roy, Vincent Damphousse, Denis Savard (who missed the final series with an injury), Kirk Muller and Brian Bellows.
But unexpected heroes emerged in Paul DiPietro (eight playoff goals), Eric Desjardins and John LeClair, while key roles were played by captain Guy Carbonneau, winger Mike Keane and defencemen Lyle Odelein and Mathieu Schneider.
The road to the Cup started with the biggest upset of all against the emerging young Quebec Nordiques led by Joe Sakic, Mats Sundin and combative goaltender Ron Hextall.
When Quebec won Game 1 at home in overtime, who could guess it would be the Canadiens' last OT loss of the playoffs?
When the Nordiques' won again 4-1, there was gleeful expectation in the provincial capital of a romp over their bitter rivals from Montreal.
But after the Game 2 loss, Demers took a side trip to the shrine at Ste-Anne de Beaupre, Que., while Roy, stung by critics who blamed him for a bad goal in each game, took on a trance-like determination that lasted the rest of the playoffs.
The notoriously superstitious Roy also changed his pre-game ritual, switching from circling one faceoff circle to the other before entering his net.
Whether it was divine intervention or the fabled ghosts at the old Montreal Forum, the Canadiens' fortunes changed overnight.
The next game in Montreal, they won in overtime, starting a streak of 11 straight victories, seven of them in overtime.
Roy did not get a single shutout that playoff year, yet his play in the post-season may have been the greatest goaltending performance of all time.
"My concentration was at such a high level, I felt I could stop anything," he said.
The series ended with Quebec coach Pierre Page shouting into Sundin's ear on the bench at the old Montreal Forum about the importance of two-way play.
The winning run included a sweep of the Buffalo Sabres in the second round by identical 4-3 scores in all four games.
The streak was finally halted in Game 4 of the conference finals by the New York Islanders, but the Canadiens wrapped up that series with a 5-2 win at home in Game 5.
While the Canadiens rested, Canada braced itself for a classic final.
The Toronto Maple Leafs had taken a 3-2 led in the western conference final over Los Angeles, one win away from the first Toronto-Montreal final showdown since 1967. But the sublime intervened again. The Kings won Game 6 in OT and ousted the Leafs with a thriller 5-4 win in Toronto.
Los Angeles carried the momentum into the final, beating the rusty Canadiens 4-1 in Game 1 at the Forum.
The Kings again led 2-1 with 1:45 left in the third period of Game 2 when Demers suddenly asked referee Kerry Fraser for a measurement of defenceman McSorley's stick.
It was found to have a curve more severe than the half-inch permitted and McSorley was penalized two minutes. Roy was pulled, giving Montreal a 6-on-4 advantage and Desjardins scored, ending an 0-for-32 power play drought.
Desjardins scored his third goal of the game in OT to become the first defenceman to get a hat-trick in a final series.
In Los Angeles, LeClair scored the game-winning goal in consecutive overtime victories for a 3-1 series lead that all-but clinched the Cup.
With the Kings peppering the Montreal net and Roy making save after save in OT in Game 4, the Canadiens' goaltender offered another classic moment when he gave Tomas Sandstrom a defiant wink after a brilliant save on Luc Robitaille.
Back in Montreal, the Canadiens finished it off with a 4-1 win. Outside on the street, hoodlums turned the mass celebration into a riot and the team had to hold its victory party in the Forum because it was too dangerous to leave.
The following year, the Vancouver Canucks reached the Stanley Cup final, losing in seven games to the New York Rangers.
At the time, a Canadian team winning the Cup was no big deal. Between Edmonton (1984, '85, '87, '88 and '90), Calgary (1989) and Montreal (1986 and 1993), Canadian-based teams won eight times in a 10-year span.
Who knew it would take this long for another just to reach the final?
Cheers,
Aquaman
Canadian Press
6/5/2004
It seems only a Patrick Roy wink of the eye since the last time a Canadian-based team won the Stanley Cup.
In fact, it has been 11 years since the Montreal Canadiens won their 24th - and perhaps most unexpected - Cup in 1993 behind 10 consecutive overtime wins and Roy's heroics in goal.
Like this year's Calgary Flames, the Canadiens went into the playoffs with low expectations, but battled to the final on goaltending and some inspired play from an under-rated group of skaters.
Legends were formed that spring, none moreso than that of Marty McSorley's illegal stick that may have cost Wayne Gretzky's Los Angeles Kings the Cup.
It was the year Roy and his goaltending guru Francois Allaire brought the butterfly style to prominence and the Canadiens popularized a system of defensive hockey that came to be called the neutral zone trap.
But there was also a dash of luck, as the gates to the final swung open when Pittsburgh, the winners in 1991 and 1992, were knocked out in the first round by New Jersey and the top western clubs beat each other up in long series.
It was the Stanley Cup's 100th anniversary and it was as though The Fates had decided the NHL's oldest, most successful club would win.
The Canadiens' stars were Roy, Vincent Damphousse, Denis Savard (who missed the final series with an injury), Kirk Muller and Brian Bellows.
But unexpected heroes emerged in Paul DiPietro (eight playoff goals), Eric Desjardins and John LeClair, while key roles were played by captain Guy Carbonneau, winger Mike Keane and defencemen Lyle Odelein and Mathieu Schneider.
The road to the Cup started with the biggest upset of all against the emerging young Quebec Nordiques led by Joe Sakic, Mats Sundin and combative goaltender Ron Hextall.
When Quebec won Game 1 at home in overtime, who could guess it would be the Canadiens' last OT loss of the playoffs?
When the Nordiques' won again 4-1, there was gleeful expectation in the provincial capital of a romp over their bitter rivals from Montreal.
But after the Game 2 loss, Demers took a side trip to the shrine at Ste-Anne de Beaupre, Que., while Roy, stung by critics who blamed him for a bad goal in each game, took on a trance-like determination that lasted the rest of the playoffs.
The notoriously superstitious Roy also changed his pre-game ritual, switching from circling one faceoff circle to the other before entering his net.
Whether it was divine intervention or the fabled ghosts at the old Montreal Forum, the Canadiens' fortunes changed overnight.
The next game in Montreal, they won in overtime, starting a streak of 11 straight victories, seven of them in overtime.
Roy did not get a single shutout that playoff year, yet his play in the post-season may have been the greatest goaltending performance of all time.
"My concentration was at such a high level, I felt I could stop anything," he said.
The series ended with Quebec coach Pierre Page shouting into Sundin's ear on the bench at the old Montreal Forum about the importance of two-way play.
The winning run included a sweep of the Buffalo Sabres in the second round by identical 4-3 scores in all four games.
The streak was finally halted in Game 4 of the conference finals by the New York Islanders, but the Canadiens wrapped up that series with a 5-2 win at home in Game 5.
While the Canadiens rested, Canada braced itself for a classic final.
The Toronto Maple Leafs had taken a 3-2 led in the western conference final over Los Angeles, one win away from the first Toronto-Montreal final showdown since 1967. But the sublime intervened again. The Kings won Game 6 in OT and ousted the Leafs with a thriller 5-4 win in Toronto.
Los Angeles carried the momentum into the final, beating the rusty Canadiens 4-1 in Game 1 at the Forum.
The Kings again led 2-1 with 1:45 left in the third period of Game 2 when Demers suddenly asked referee Kerry Fraser for a measurement of defenceman McSorley's stick.
It was found to have a curve more severe than the half-inch permitted and McSorley was penalized two minutes. Roy was pulled, giving Montreal a 6-on-4 advantage and Desjardins scored, ending an 0-for-32 power play drought.
Desjardins scored his third goal of the game in OT to become the first defenceman to get a hat-trick in a final series.
In Los Angeles, LeClair scored the game-winning goal in consecutive overtime victories for a 3-1 series lead that all-but clinched the Cup.
With the Kings peppering the Montreal net and Roy making save after save in OT in Game 4, the Canadiens' goaltender offered another classic moment when he gave Tomas Sandstrom a defiant wink after a brilliant save on Luc Robitaille.
Back in Montreal, the Canadiens finished it off with a 4-1 win. Outside on the street, hoodlums turned the mass celebration into a riot and the team had to hold its victory party in the Forum because it was too dangerous to leave.
The following year, the Vancouver Canucks reached the Stanley Cup final, losing in seven games to the New York Rangers.
At the time, a Canadian team winning the Cup was no big deal. Between Edmonton (1984, '85, '87, '88 and '90), Calgary (1989) and Montreal (1986 and 1993), Canadian-based teams won eight times in a 10-year span.
Who knew it would take this long for another just to reach the final?
Cheers,
Aquaman
Calgary is really sucking right now... no way they can come back in this game playing like this...
Anyone else get a kick out of when they zoom in on Nik Khabibulin's face and he is in full twitch mode? 
Originally posted by: n7
[/Matrix voice]The Flames will win (be it tonight or the final game); it is their destiny[/Matrix Voice]
[Neo]
WOAH!
[/Neo]
Damn, that was a crazy period!
Brad Richards was nuts! His first goal was flukey, but dayam, his second goal was nice. And the Clarke goal was a beauty! Awesome pass by Niemenen!!
Kipper doesn't look as strong in goal, and Iginla did miss the net. This does not bode well for Calgary at all
Brad Richards was nuts! His first goal was flukey, but dayam, his second goal was nice. And the Clarke goal was a beauty! Awesome pass by Niemenen!!
Kipper doesn't look as strong in goal, and Iginla did miss the net. This does not bode well for Calgary at all
wtf.. as much as i hate calgary that goal that was disallowed was a bunch of crap. it went in fair and square.
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