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Sharks aim for series' lead in Game 5 against Flames

Thu 17th, April 2008

(Sports Network) - The second-seeded San Jose Sharks will try to take their first lead of the Western Conference quarterfinals tonight, as they host the Calgary Flames for Game 5 at HP Pavilion.

The seventh-seeded Flames posted wins in Games 1 and 3, while San Jose recorded victories in the even-numbered contests.

The Sharks, champions of the Pacific Division, evened this best-of-seven series at two games apiece with Tuesday's road triumph at the Saddledome.

Joe Thornton's deflection goal with 9.4 seconds remaining in regulation lifted the Sharks to the thrilling 3-2 win over the Flames in Game 4.

Jonathan Cheechoo brought the Sharks even with his goal at 15:06 of the third before Thornton notched the game-winner in the final seconds for San Jose.

Evgeni Nabokov faced only 10 shots and allowed two goals while Ryane Clowe also scored in the victory.

Jarome Iginla and Dion Phaneuf scored for the Flames, who were five minutes away from a commanding series' lead, but instead watched as the visitors rallied with the late comeback.

After Cheechoo's first goal of the series tied the score at 2-2 in the latter stages of the third period, the teams fought for every inch of ice throughout the final minutes. A key icing call on Calgary with 29 seconds remaining in regulation brought the faceoff back to the San Jose offensive zone, and it proved very costly for the Flames.

The Sharks won the faceoff and the puck stayed deep in the zone along the rear boards. Thornton used his patented excellent body positioning along the wall to maintain control and the disc skipped onto the stick of Clowe along the outer rim of the left circle near the half-wall. Clowe then passed into the high slot for Douglas Murray, who released a wrist shot that Thornton deflected home from the top of the crease with 9.4 seconds on the clock.

Miikka Kiprusoff made 29 saves in the losing effort.

Once again the Sharks outshot Calgary by a wide margin, as they owned a 32-10 advantage in shots on goal in Game 4. The Flames' 10 shots on goal was the lowest-ever total for the franchise in a playoff game.

San Jose has 141 shots on goal in the series compared to just 79 for the Flames. However, the Sharks are only holding a 12-9 advantage in goals scored.

The Sharks were 22-13-6 at home this season, while Calgary has a 21-19-1 road record.

After tonight's test, the series will shift back to Calgary on Sunday for Game 6 at the Saddledome.

The Flames won the season series against the Sharks this year, going 3-1-0 against them.

Calgary and San Jose have also split a pair of playoff series in their histories. The Sharks beat Calgary in seven games during the 1995 conference quarters, and the Flames posted a 4-2 series victory in the 2004 West finals.

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