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FLAMES
COME UP BIG BY THE BAY
One
Win Away From Lord
Stanley
June
3rd, 2004
D'ARCY
MCGRATH
The
Thugs take the Bay?
Okay,
not exactly a bumper
sticker, but fitting
just the same as the
Calgary Flames kept up
the win one lose one
mantra of the Stanley
Cup Final by disposing
of the Tamap Bay
Lightening in overtime
of game five by a score
of 3-2.
In
the first June game in
franchise history it
took more than three
periods to get it done,
in fact almost four
before an unlikely hero
took the stage with five
minutes left in the
fourth frame.
Oleg
Saprykin, the riddle
wrapped around the
puzzle, shoved inside
the Rubix cube that
Darryl Sutter has had to
solve on a daily basis,
came through in the
extra frame converting
two rebounds off the helmet less
Jarome Iginla to put the
Flames up by a three
game to two count.
"We
knew he'd play allot,
both wings, all
situations," said
Darryl Sutter on Oleg
Saprykin's roster rise
due to the suspension of
winger Ville Niemenin,
"and he scored a
big one."
"He's
my roommate, I told him
he'd score a big one and
there's none bigger than
this one", said
Calgary's usual hero
Martin Gelinas.
Calgary
came out strong in this
one, controlling the
play early and exiting
the first period tied
one apiece, despite a
level of play that would
suggest a two to three
goal lead.
The
all important first goal
in this one went to the
Flames, a big key given
the Flames 12-1 record
in these playoffs, when
Martin Gelinas tipped in
a Toni Lydman powerplay
point shot to put the
road club up one.
With
less than a minute to go
in the first the
Lightening gave the
Flames a shake however,
when Martin St. Louis
took advantage off a
lost edge by Calgary
defenceman Robyn Regehr
to put a backhand past
Kiprusoff and notch the
score.
Game
tied at one, but the
Flames feeling a little
blue having deserved far
better in the first
period.
Calgary
dug deep early in the
second frame as well,
carrying the play to the
tune of a period shot
advantage of 14-3.
Finally
Jarome Iginla put his
club back out in front
when he beat a somewhat
sleepy Khabibulin with a
shot off the boards and
over his pad to put the
Flames up 2-1.
Early
in the third period
Calgary veteran Rhett
Warrener took a somewhat
questionable penalty for
holding the miraculously
still walking Vincent
Lecavalier just 30
seconds into the final
frame.
Just
a handful of seconds
after that the Bolts
tied the score when
Fredrik Modin found the
handle between the
coverage of Calgary
defencemen Regehr and
Jordan Leopold to tie
the score.
From
there overtime was inevitable.
Tampa
came out strong in the
extra frame, carrying a
territorial edge despite
generating much in the
way of true chances in
close to Kiprusoff.
Late
in the period momentum
switched toward Calgary
when the Flames captain,
Iginla, lost his helmet.
Calgary fans likely
thought back to game
three in the Detroit
series when Iginla
scored a key goal
without his lid, and
this was the case this
time despite the delay
in action.
On
his second shift, the
lidless Iginla took a
Marcus Nilson pass and
one timed it toward the
Tampa goal. Saprykin
picked up the rebound
and whacked the winner
home.
"Nilson
made a great pass to me
to get the original
shot, Oly was banging
away in there. He played
so well all night. So
good to see him get that
goal," said the
gracious captain Iginla.
"It's
simple when you lose all
the battles through
40," said Lightning
coach John Tortorella.
"It was a turnover
and them rammed it down
our throats".
The
Flames return to Calgary
for game six and a
chance to launch the Red
Mile of all Red Miles
with a Stanley Cup win
on a Saturday night.
Amazing
... a season that was
aimed at a playoff spot
now has a two game shot
at a Stanley Cup. I'm
sure I'm not the only
one that has yet to have
the levity of this
situation to sink in.
Never
the less, the situation
is the situation, and
Calgarians have all
summer to put the events
in their place.
S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y
... any Bay City Roller
fans out there?
Don't
expect the Flames to
look past the next 60
minutes, at least not
according to Iginla.
"We're
going to enjoy this game
for half and hour and
that's it. As far as the
Lightening being
desperate, we plan on
being desperate as
well."
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