FLAMES 4 – SHARKS 3
Owen Nolan scored with 3:45 left in the third period to lead the Calgary Flames to a hard-fought 4-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks.
“I was lucky enough to find a hole,” said the former San Jose captain, who also had two assists in the come-from-behind victory in front of 19,289 boisterous fans at the Saddledome.
With the win the Flames grabbed a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series with Game 4 slated for Tuesday night (8 p.m.) at the ’Dome.
Nolan finished the game with a goal and two assists, while captain Jarome Iginla and defenceman Dion Phaneuf each had a goal and an assist.
Daymond Langkow also scored, while Curtis Joseph stopped all 22 shots he faced in a relief appearance.
“I just wanted to keep the puck out and hopefully we could turn up our game which we did,” said Joseph, who played his first game as a Flame in Calgary. “It’s one of those games that comes along once in a while where you come back from three down. Big credit to the guys in the room. We worked really hard.”
With three goals on five shots in the first 3-1/2 minutes of play, the Sharks chased Calgary goalie Miikka Kiprusoff from the net.
Goals by Ryane Clowe, Patrick Marleau and Douglas Murray game the Sharks an early three-goal lead, but a thunderous hit by Calgary defenceman Cory Sarich on San Jose captain Patrick Marleau brought the fans to life and gave the Flames energy.
Shortly after Sarich’s hit, Iginla tipped in a point shot by Phaneuf during a Calgary power play. The Flames then drew to within one goal the second period when Langkow tipped in a goal-mouth feed from Iginla on another Calgary man advantage.
In the third, Phaneuf blasted a heavy point shot that San Jose defenceman Marc-Edouard Vlasic inadvertently put into his own net to tie the contest.
With the Flames penalized for too many men on the ice, Joseph made a great shoulder save on Clowe to keep the game knotted at 3-3.
