Marc Ciampa
May 16th, 2004

News flash: the Calgary Flames are still leading this series.

Perhaps in this round more than the other two, Flames fans have allowed themselves to get too high following a big win and too low following a big loss. Regardless, the only known quantity for this afternoon’s game (CBC/ESPN, 8:00 p.m. MT) is that Thursday night’s result will have no bearing on what happens today.

Certainly, a victory is far from assured against a Sharks team that likely has renewed confidence after a big win but the Flames will at least put forth a consistent, strong effort that fans have come to expect the game following a loss.

FLAMES KEYS TO SUCCESS:

• Traffic: Calgary did have their chances last game but rarely ever got in front of Nabokov to obstruct his view of the action. The Sharks have done a great job all series long of clearing the front of the net but the Flames need to be that much more determined to get to those areas of the ice.
• Hit harder: When the Flames were most successful against the Canucks and Red Wings, they would dump the puck in and hammer their defencemen into the glass while battling for possession. There wasn’t all that much hitting Thursday and that was a big reason it was harder to create good offensive chances.
• Defence: Defensively, the Flames have done all the right things in both game two and three. It’s likely they’ll be seeking more offence this afternoon but it can’t be at the expense of their defensive game.

ODDS ARE...

First, the bad news. When the road team wins the first two games in a series, then loses game three at home, that team’s series record is 16-14 (.533) which is slightly below the .900+ winning percentage following two road wins in games one and two. The team with the 2-1 series lead also has a difficult time in game four with a 12-18 record (.400).

However, the team leading a series two games to one overall still has a leg up on winning the entire series at 243-100 (.708). Their game four record is better as well, at 161-182 (.469) or 43-48 in the conference finals (.473).

When leading a best-of-seven series two games to one, the Flames have a 7-2 series record and a 4-5 game four record—the most recent loss being last round against Detroit when the Flames had the chance to go up 3-1. The two series that the Flames dropped when holding a 2-1 series lead were the 1994 Western Conference Quarter Finals against Vancouver (Canucks won in seven) and the 1993 Western Conference Quarter Finals against Los Angeles (Kings won in six).

ROSTER UPDATES:

Calgary: Dean McAmmond (back) and Steve Reinprecht (shoulder) are both out for the rest of the season. Denis Gauthier (leg) is out. Matthew Lombardi (concussion) is doubtful. Andrew Ference (eye) is probable. Toni Lydman (concussion) could return this series.

San Jose: Milan Michalek (knee) and Marco Sturm (ankle/leg) are out for the season. Scott Parker (hand) could play if called upon.

FAST FACTS:

Jarome Iginla had a six-game point streak snapped last game. He has not recorded a multi-point game in these playoffs since his three-point effort in game seven versus the Canucks… This series so far has been very similar to the 1995 Flames/Sharks Western Conference Quarter Final except with the roles reversed. Back in 1995 it was San Jose that won the first two games in Calgary followed by the Flames returning the favour in San Jose for game three. The Flames went on to win games four and five as well before losing the series in seven… Craig Conroy is the only Flame who has more than one goal in this series, with two… Shean Donovan leads all Flames with four points this round… Despite the Flames not scoring in game three, Chris Clark, Mike Commodore, Chris Simon, Andrew Ference and Stephane Yelle are the only Flames players who have yet to register a point in this series… Despite only playing in six games, Chris Simon is third in the league with 39 PIM these playoffs… Alex Korolyuk leads all Sharks with four points this round (3g, 1a). The only other Sharks with more than one point are Alyn McCauley (1g, 1a), Wayne Primeau (two assists) and Rob Davison (two assists)… Brad Stuart has no points and is a -4 this round… Martin Gelinas has struggled against San Jose with only one assist and a -1. Only two other Flames are in the negatives: Jordan Leopold (-1) and Chris Clark (-2).

QUOTABLE:

"We get overexcited about this red crowd but we have to learn from it. On the road, we play hospital hockey with lots of patience."

-- Flames forward Ville Nieminen with a humorous look at how the Flames need to improve their performance at home in these playoffs.

"He was trying to be unselfish and share it with Patty (Patrick Marleau). I told him: 'Alex, you've got to put the game away. I know what you were trying to do. Put the game away.' By him waiting, that started the altercation. When a game's like that, messages are sent. They [the Flames] are a proud team."

-- Vincent Damphousse’s explanation of Alexander Korolyuk’s actions.

“There's no advantage. I know the team we're playing has many guys from the west. They might consider it home-ice advantage, to be quite honest. I'll tell you what, if I was a player from western Canada and – and I'm not saying it because we're Calgary, but if I was a player from western Canada, wouldn't matter what team I was on, if I came in this building, I'd get excited. I don't know how that's an advantage. It's an advantage of where you're from.”

-- Flames head coach and GM Darryl Sutter on the importance of home ice advantage.

“I'll say it, the crowd wasn't anything that I haven't seen before. In fact, I've seen worse. I always thought Winnipeg was loud. You could never replicate Chicago Stadium. That was always incredible. Playoff series in Phoenix when I was with Anaheim was as loud as it gets, too. Just about every building can replicate that. That wasn't the problem.”

-- Sharks head coach Ron Wilson on the Saddledome crowd.

HEAD-TO-HEAD:

Calgary leads best-of-seven series 2-1

May 13: San Jose 3 at Calgary 0

Calgary: None (Kiprusoff 23 shots, 21 saves)

San Jose: Damphousse, Korolyuk (2) (Nabokov 34 shots, 34 saves)

May 11: Calgary 4 at San Jose 1

Calgary: Nilson, Donovan, Nieminen, Iginla (Kiprusoff 18 shots, 17 saves)

San Jose: McCauley (Nabokov 20 shots, 16 saves)

May 9: Calgary 4 at San Jose 3 (OT)

Calgary: Oliwa, Conroy (2), Montador (Kiprusoff 52 shots, 49 saves)

San Jose: Ricci, Harvey, Korolyuk (Nabokov 37 shots, 33 saves)

Season series this year tied 2-2-0-0

Oct. 11: San Jose 2 at Calgary 3

Dec. 2: San Jose 1 at Calgary 3

Jan. 28: Calgary 1 at San Jose 4

Mar. 25: Calgary 2 at San Jose 3

1995 Western Conference Quarter Finals (Sharks win series 4-3)

May 7 San Jose Sharks 5 at Calgary Flames 4

May 9 San Jose Sharks 5 at Calgary Flames 4

(Ulf Dahlen scored at 12:21 of the first overtime)

May 11 Calgary Flames 9 at San Jose Sharks 2

May 13 Calgary Flames 6 at San Jose Sharks 4

May 15 San Jose Sharks 0 at Calgary Flames 5

May 17 Calgary Flames 3 at San Jose Sharks 5

May 19 San Jose Sharks 5 at Calgary Flames 4

(Ray Whitney scored at 1:54 of the second overtime)