Nothing
But Grey Skies for Flames
Rick
Charlton
March
21st, 2002
When it rains, it pours.
The Calgary Flames couldn't get a break on the
road and now find their personal cloud of doom has followed them into
their own building with a clear goal disallowed by a local video referee
at a critical point in a 4-1 loss to San Jose last night at the
Saddledome.
With the Sharks hanging on to a 1-0 lead and
Calgary pressing, Flames appeared to have tied the game midway through
the second period on a mad scrum in front of San Jose starter Evgeny
Nabakov.
Marc Savard, Rob Niedermayer and finally Toni
Lydman were all jabbing at a puck that an overhead camera showed to be
loose in the legs of Nabakov with Shark defenceman Brad Stuart finally
putting his hand on the puck and pulling it out of the net.
But a consultation with referee Brad Pollock and
the video goal judge inexplicably waived the goal off - allegedly
because the puck failed to cross the line.
It was later revealed the video judge hadn't the
same view that thousands of Flames fans watching on television did, a
problem that is cropping up far too often around the NHL.
Calgary is now winless in seven and is
essentially in next year territory with only 11 games to play and a ten
point deficit behind eighth place Dallas in the NHL's Western
Conference.
Flames drop three games under .500 for the first
time this season, a record of 27-30-10-3 generating 68 points.
The NHL's leading marksman, Jarome Iginla,
failed to score for the fifth straight game but still maintains a seven
goal lead over second place Mats Sundin. Iginla also leads the NHL's
overall points standings with a seven point edge over trailing Markus
Naslund of Vancouver.
This game was a microcosm of the Flames woes of
late, a snake-bitten Jarome Iginla, too many penalties, a poor penalty
kill, a power play that can barely control the zone let alone score and
the surrender of grade A scoring opportunities to the opposition.
Don't forget "crappy luck" as a
factor, Craig Conroy finding yet another crossbar that might have
knotted the game at 2-2 early in the third period.
Sharks opened scoring at 15:38 of the opening
frame, defenceman Brad Stuart pinching in from the point all the way to
the crease and, with three Flames standing nearby, batting a rebound
into an open net on a San Jose powerplay.
Calgary appeared to tie the game on the disputed
Lydman marker but eventually did break through when Gary Suter misplayed
the puck behind the Shark net at 16:50 of the second, allowing Ronald
Petrovicky to pass to an open Jeff Shantz for an easy one-timer at 16:50
of the second.
But San Jose came back to score on the next
shift when Adam Graves outmuscled Derek Morris at 17:18 to restore the
San Jose lead.
Owen Nolan and Scott Thornton added third period
markers to put the game out of reach.
Flames were zero for five on the powerplay while
the Sharks scored twice in five opportunities.
Attendance was 16,495.
Next up are the Oilers in Edmonton on Saturday
night.
Â
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Scoreboard
|
|
San
Jose Sharks |
4 |
|
Calgary
Flames |
1 |
Box Score
FLAMES
LINES
McAmmond |
Conroy |
Iginla |
Sloan |
Savard |
Begin |
Wright |
Shantz |
Petrovicky |
Berube |
Nidermayer |
Clark |
|
Morris |
Regehr |
Gauthier |
Lydman |
Boughner |
Kravchuk |
OUR
THREE STARS
1
Owen Nolan -
toyed with the
Calgary defence
which had difficulty
handling his size. A
goal and an
assist.Â
2
Evegeny Nabakov -
Made the big saves
at the key
moments.Â
3
Flames
Administration - maybe
its time to give the
local video judge an
overhead view he can
use.
HIT
OF THE GAME
Chris
Clark charged thirty
feet across the ice
to ram Matt Bradley
against the boards,
causing the Shark
forward to double up
in pain and hobble
off the ice.
SAVE
OF THE GAME
Late
in a five on three
situation, Jarome
Iginla's pass to a
wide open Craig
Conroy was slightly
off target, allowing
Nabakov the crucial
second he needed to
slide across the
crease for a
fabulous toe save.
NOTES
& STATS
Flames
have now allowed a
power play goal in
six straight games.
They've gained only
two points out of a
possible 12 in a not
so subtle
coincidence. . . . .
. . . The Flames
have only five goals
in 20 five on three
opportunities this
year. . . . . . San
Jose ends the year
3-0-1 against the
Flames . . . . .
Flames outhit the
Sharks 28-19 on the
night with Denis
Gauthier leading the
way with six for
Calgary and Brad
Stuart racking up
three for San Jose.
. . . . . . Conroy
was the best Flames
faceoff man with 64%
while his team was
58% on the night.
Mark Smith was 66%
for San Jose. . . .
. . Derek Morris led
the Flames in ice
time by a long shot
with 28:01 while
Mike Rathje put up
21:04 for the
Sharks. . . . . . .
. .San Jose is
28-5-4-1 when
leading after one
period.
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